BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: sb 124
SENATOR ALAN LOWENTHAL, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: oropeza
VERSION: 4/30/09
Analysis by: Jennifer Gress FISCAL: no
Hearing date: May 12, 2009
SUBJECT:
Schoolbus idling and idling at schools
DESCRIPTION:
This bill codifies an existing regulation adopted by the
California Air Resources Board (ARB) to limit the idling of
school buses, school pupil activity buses, youth buses, transit
buses, general public paratransit vehicles, and other commercial
motor vehicles at or near schools and makes the penalty
consistent with the penalty for commercial motor vehicles that
violate ARB's rule to limit diesel-fueled commercial motor
vehicle idling.
ANALYSIS:
The California Toxic Air Contaminant Identification and Control
Program requires ARB to identify and control toxic air
contaminants (TACs). Following the identification of a
substance as a TAC, existing law requires ARB to prepare a
report on the need and appropriate degree of regulation for that
substance. ARB identified diesel particulate matter (diesel PM)
as a TAC in August 1998. A needs assessment for diesel PM was
published in October 2000 as the "Risk Reduction Plan to Reduce
Particulate Matter Emissions from Diesel-Fueled Engines and
Vehicles." In this Risk Reduction Plan, ARB indicated that
idling measures could be used to "limit the amount of time
heavy-duty vehicle engines are allowed to operate while not
performing useful work, e.g., moving the vehicle or operating
essential equipment."
In December 2002, ARB adopted a regulation to limit school bus
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idling and idling at schools in order to reduce children's and
the general public's exposure to diesel PM and other pollutants
from school buses, school pupil activity buses, youth buses,
general paratransit vehicles, transit buses, and heavy-duty
commercial motor vehicles that operate at or near schools.
Effective July 2003, this regulation requires the driver of a
school bus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, general
paratransit vehicle, transit bus, and a commercial motor vehicle
to turn off the engine upon arriving at a school and to restart
it no more than 30 seconds before departing. A driver of a bus
or vehicle whose primary purpose is the transport of children
(i.e., a school bus, school pupil activity bus, youth bus, or
general public paratransit vehicle) is subject to the same
requirement when operating within 100 feet of a school and is
prohibited from idling more than five minutes at locations
beyond schools. A driver of a transit bus or other commercial
motor vehicle, whose primary purpose is not the transport of
children, is prohibited from idling more than five minutes
within 100 feet of a school.
In addition, the regulation requires a motor carrier of an
affected bus or vehicle to ensure that drivers are informed of
the idling requirements, to track complaints and enforcement
actions regarding the requirements, and to keep records of such
driver education and tracking activities.
The regulation exempts specific idling situations where health,
safety, or operational concerns take precedence. For example,
exemptions are provided for idling in the midst of traffic; to
ascertain safe operating conditions of a bus or vehicle; for
test, service, repair, or diagnostic purposes; to accomplish
work, other than transportation, for which a vehicle was
designed (e.g., controlling cargo temperature or operating a
lift, drill, etc.); to operate equipment needed by persons with
disabilities and heaters or air conditioners for special needs
children; to operate defrosters or other equipment to prevent a
safety or health emergency; and to recharge a hybrid electric
bus or vehicle.
The regulation to limit school bus idling and idling at schools
may be enforced by ARB, peace officers, or air districts. A
violation of any provision is subject to a minimum civil penalty
of $100 and specified criminal penalties.
In 2004, ARB adopted a rule that, effective February 2005,
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prohibits the idling of diesel-fueled commercial motor vehicles
for more than five minutes, regardless of the location. At the
time, the minimum civil penalty accompanying a violation of this
rule was $100. In 2007, however, the Legislature passed AB 233
(Jones), Chapter 592, which increased the minimum penalty to
$300.
This bill codifies the regulation to limit school bus idling and
idling near schools, and conforms the minimum penalty for a
violation of this rule to the minimum penalty ($300) for a
violation of the rule to limit the idling of commercial motor
vehicles.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . According to the author, while California currently
has a governor who many view as "green-friendly," the next
administration may not be. Planning for such a contingency is
paramount, and codifying the regulation makes it more
difficult for the next governor to alter it without
significant public and legislative input.
2.Why codify this regulation and not others ? ARB adopts
numerous regulations each year. Why is the regulation to
limit school bus idling and idling near schools more important
to codify than other regulations? According to the author,
Senate District 28, which is the district the author
represents, has some of the most polluted air in the country.
This, coupled with the high rate of asthma among children in
that area, has made school children's exposure to air
pollution an important subject of concern.
In many cases, children have greater exposure than adults to
airborne pollutants. Children generally breathe more rapidly
than adults. Further, children often breathe through their
mouths, which permit pollutants to bypass the nose, which may
serve to filter some pollutants, thereby allowing more
pollutants to be inhaled.
In addition, because their immune systems and vital organs are
immature and still developing, children are often more
susceptible to the health effects of air pollution than are
adults. It may take less exposure to trigger an asthma attack
or other breathing ailment due to the sensitivity of a child's
developing respiratory system. And exposure to toxic air
contaminants during infancy or childhood can affect the
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development of the respiratory, nervous, endocrine and immune
systems, and could increase the risk of cancer later in life.
3.Previous legislation . In 2004, the Legislature passed AB 2644
(Oropeza), a nearly identical measure to SB 124. The Governor
vetoed the bill with the following message:
Improving the quality of our air is a priority of my
administration. Through the budget and other legislative
efforts we have committed millions of dollars towards
clean air programs that are assured to make significant
improvements in air quality, including upgrading our aging
school bus fleet to new cleaner burning less polluting
busses.
However, AB 2644 is duplicative of existing state
regulations for idling school buses and is unnecessary.
This bill will limit the California Air Resources Boards
[sic] discretionary authority to modify the program.
Future refinements, such as changes to reporting and
training provisions and other substantive and
nonsubstantive amendments would need to go thorough the
legislative process and be approved by the Governor. This
is an unnecessary level of micro-management that the
states regulatory system is designed to address.
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the Committee before noon on
Wednesday,
May 6, 2009)
SUPPORT: American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees
California State PTA
County Health Executives Association of
California
Independent Private Schools of California
Planning and Conservation League
OPPOSED: None received.