BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 382|
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VETO
Bill No: SB 382
Author: Florez (D), et al
Amended: 5/5/09
Vote: 21
SENATE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE : 4-1, 4/21/09
AYES: Florez, Maldonado, Hancock,Pavley
NOES: Hollingsworth
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/4/09
AYES: Simitian, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal, Pavley
NOES: Runner, Ashburn
SENATE FLOOR : 23-14, 5/14/09
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, DeSaulnier,
Ducheny, Florez, Hancock, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, Lowenthal,
Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza, Padilla, Pavley,
Romero, Simitian, Steinberg, Wiggins, Wright, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Benoit, Cogdill, Cox, Denham,
Dutton, Harman, Hollingsworth, Huff, Runner, Strickland,
Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo, Wolk, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 47-30, 9/2/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Agricultural burning: consistency with no burn
days
SOURCE : Author
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DIGEST : This bill invalidates an agricultural burn
permit issued in the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air
Pollution Control District on a day on which the district
prohibits the use of wood burning fireplaces.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides the Air Resources Board (ARB) with primary
responsibility for control of mobile source air
pollution, including adoption of rules for reducing
vehicle emissions and the specification of vehicular
fuel composition. (Health and Safety Code Section 39000
et seq. and Section 39500 et seq.). The ARB must
coordinate efforts to attain and maintain ambient air
quality standards. (Health and Safety Code Section
39003).
2. Provides that air pollution control districts (APCDs)
and air quality management districts (AQMDs) have
primary responsibility for controlling air pollution
from all sources, other than emissions from mobile
sources. (Health and Safety Code Section 40000 et
seq.). Certain APCDs and AQMDs are established, with
related authority, including the San Joaquin Valley
Unified Air Pollution Control District (District).
(Health and Safety Code Section 40600 et seq.).
3. Requires the ARB to develop and conduct a program of
monitoring airborne particles smaller than 2.5 microns
in diameter (PM 2.5) that must be designed to meet
certain requirements. (Health and Safety Code Section
39619.5).
4. Requires ARB (in consultation with APCDs and AQMDs), on
or before January 1, 2005, to develop and adopt a list
of the most readily available, feasible, and
cost-effective proposed control measures that could be
employed to reduce PM 2.5 and PM 10. The ARB must
specify in the list whether a proposed control measure
is intended to reduce PM 2.5 and PM 10, and whether it
is a proposed control measure for adoption. No later
than July 31, 2005, the ARB must adopt an implementation
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schedule for state measures, and each air district must
adopt an implementation schedule for the most
cost-effective local measures, from the list. (Health
and Safety Code Section 39614).
5. Prohibits a person from knowingly permit agricultural
burning without a valid permit from the agency
designated by the ARB to issue the permits. ARB must
designate public fire protection agencies or other
equivalent agencies to issue these permits, and must
adopt rules and regulations to provide a procedure for
the issuance of the permits. A permit is not valid for
any day when agricultural burning is prohibited by the
ARB, APCD, or AQMD, and each permit must include a
statement regarding this prohibition (Health and Safety
Code Sections 41852, 41853, 41854).
6. Prohibits the issuance of a permit to burn certain
categories of agricultural waste within the District
jurisdiction, requires the District to develop and adopt
rules establishing best management practices for other
weeds and maintenance control, and requires the District
to develop and adopt rules to regulate diseased crop
burning if certain conditions are met. (Health and
Safety Code Section 41855.5).
This bill:
1.Provides that an agricultural burn permit for burning
within the jurisdiction of the District is invalid on
days in which the District prohibition on the operation
of wood burning devices is in effect.
2.Requires all permits issued within the District to
contain a warning regarding this provision.
3. Prohibits the District from making any rules that
enables any person to burn agricultural waste on any day
during which any program operated by the District has
prohibited the operation of a wood burning device.
4.Contains related legislative intent, including intent
that the District "established a policy that creates
parity between agricultural burning and residential wood
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burning on days designated by the district as 'no burn'
days."
Comments
Threat of wood smoke to public health . According to the
Senate Environmental Quality Committee analysis, the ARB
recently heard results of several studies showing that
smoke from wood fires aggravates lung and heart disease.
According to ARB Release 09-06:
"ARB research staff reviewed four recent national
toxicological studies in presenting today's findings to the
Board. The findings support fireplace ordinances that many
local air districts throughout California are implementing.
The research found that wood smoke can cause a 10 percent
increase of hospital admissions for respiratory problems
among children. ARB estimates that between 20 to 80
percent of ambient wintertime particulate matter is due to
wood smoke. Studies have found up to 70 percent of smoke
from chimneys can re-enter a home or neighboring
residences.
Wood smoke consists of several pollutants, including carbon
monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter and other
irritating and toxic components. California's wood smoke
problem and its pollution problem in general, are
compounded by the state's geography and weather. The many
valleys and calm air cause the pollutants to remain at
ground level rather than be swept away.
In several areas throughout California, air quality
officials are restricting residential wood burning on days
when particulate matter pollution is expected to be high.
These and other strategies are substantially reducing
wintertime peak particulate matter levels and therefore
should reduce the risk of cardiovascular hospitalizations
and premature deaths."
Related legislation
SB 554 (Hollingsworth), 2009-10 Session , prohibits an APCD
or AQMD from adopting or implementing any rule or
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regulation restricting or prohibiting the installation or
operation of any wood-burning fireplace, wood-burning
heater, or wood-burning stove in any new or existing
residential structure.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/5/09)
San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District
Sierra Club California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"An almond branch burned in a field is no different than
what you put in your fireplace. An ag burn is not good for
the air. If we're getting to the point where we're not
going to let residents burn in their fireplaces, then ag
needs to find some sort of symmetrical solution."
Existing law provides for the regulation of agricultural
burning and wood burning devices, with additional state
restrictions on agricultural waste burning within the
jurisdiction of the District. According to the author's
office, "SB 382 ensures that if there are no burn days for
residential fireplaces, then there are no burn days for
agricultural waste."
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
"I am returning Senate Bill 382 without my signature.
This bill would invalidate a permit to burn
agricultural waste within the San Joaquin Valley Air
Pollution Control District (District) on any day or
days in which burning from wood-burning devices, such
as fireplaces, is prohibited.
This bill is unnecessary. The District has existing
authority to regulate, as appropriate, both
agricultural burning, through its California Air
Resources Board-approved Smoke Management Program,
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and residential wood burning through existing
District rules.
Additionally, vegetation management projects play a
significant role in preventing and reducing the
spread of devastating wildfires. As written, this
bill could constrain the ability of Cal Fire to
perform critical vegetation management projects on
State Responsibility Area lands located within the
District.
Burn activities should be judged both independently
and in combination according to where the activities
are occurring and the current air conditions. The
District is the best entity to make this
determination.
For these reasons, I am unable to sign this bill."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer,
Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jones, Krekorian, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma,
Mendoza, Monning, Nava, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Solorio,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Yamada, Bass
NOES: Adams, Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill,
Blakeslee, Conway, Cook, DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson,
Fletcher, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Harkey, Jeffries, Knight, Logue, Miller,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Silva, Smyth, Audra
Strickland, Tran, Villines
NO VOTE RECORDED: Buchanan, Hall, Vacancy
TSM:do 1/7/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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