BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1402|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1402
Author: Dutton (R), et al
Amended: 5/18/10
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE ENV. QUALITY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/19/10
AYES: Simitian, Runner, Corbett, Hancock, Lowenthal,
Pavley, Strickland
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 10-0, 5/17/10
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Alquist, Corbett, Denham, Leno, Walters,
Wolk, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Price
SUBJECT : Air pollution penalties
SOURCE : Californians for Enforcement Reform and
Transparency
DIGEST : This bill requires written or oral
communications from the Air Resources Board (ARB) that
allege a violation of air pollution laws to contain
specific information regarding the alleged violation. This
bill also requires ARB to prepare and submit to the
Legislature and the Governor a report summarizing the motor
vehicle pollution administrative penalties imposed by ARB
for calendar year 2011 and annually thereafter, and to
publish a penalty policy for motor vehicle pollution laws
based on specified criteria.
CONTINUED
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ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Generally establishes processes for assessing fines and
penalties and specifies the deposit of fines and
penalties for violations of vehicular air pollution
control laws into the Air Pollution Control Fund or the
General Fund (GF).
2. Establishes a process to assess administrative penalties
in lieu of civil penalties for violation of specified
vehicular air pollution control laws up to $100,000 and
establishes a threshold of $100,000 for penalty
assessments that qualify a person for mutual settlement
agreements and requires the settlements to be deposited
into the GF.
3. Requires ARB and the courts to consider specified
conditions when considering the amount assessed for
administrative or civil penalties for violations of
vehicular air pollution control laws such as (a) the
extent of harm to public health, safety, and welfare
caused by the violation, (b) the nature and persistence
of the violation, including the magnitude of the excess
emissions, (c) the compliance history of the defendant,
including the frequency of past violations, (d) the
preventive efforts taken by the defendant, including the
record of maintenance and any program to ensure
compliance, (e) the innovative nature and the magnitude
of the effort required to comply, and the accuracy,
reproducibility, and repeatability of the available test
methods, (f) the efforts to attain, or provide for,
compliance, and (g) the cooperation of the defendant
during the course of the investigation and any action
taken by the defendant, including the nature, extent,
and time of response of any action taken to mitigate the
violation.
4. Requires any person who violates any vehicular air
pollution control law as specified to be liable for a
civil penalty not to exceed $5,000 per vehicle and those
penalties be deposited in the Air Pollution Control Fund
(APCF).
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5. States that any action brought pursuant to #4 above to
recover such civil penalties must take special
precedence over all other civil matters on the calendar
of the court except those matters to which equal
precedence on the calendar is granted by law.
6. Requires the revenues from penalties recovered by ARB to
be deposited in the APCF and must only be expended by
ARB for environmental cleanup, abatement, or pollution
prevention technology.
7. Prohibits the sale of any new motor vehicle in
California that does not meet the emission standards
adopted by ARB, and any manufacturer who sells, attempts
to sell, or causes to be offered for sale a new motor
vehicle that fails to meet the applicable emission
standards must be subject to a civil penalty of $5,000
for each such action, with the penalty to be deposited
into the GF.
This bill:
1. Requires written or oral communications from ARB that
allege an imposition of a penalty to contain specific
information including (a) the manner in which ARB used
to determine the amount of a penalty, (b) where
applicable, the per unit or per vehicle basis for the
penalty, (c) reasoning for the use of the particular
provision for assessing the violation, and (d) whether
the administrative or civil penalty is being assessed
under a provision of law that prohibits the emission of
pollution at a specified level, and if so, a
quantification of the specific amount of pollution
emitted in excess of that level.
2. Requires ARB to make available to the public all final
mutual settlement agreements arising from violations of
vehicular air pollution control laws.
3. Requires ARB to prepare and submit to the Legislature
and the Governor a report summarizing the motor vehicle
pollution administrative penalties imposed by ARB for
calendar year 2011, and annually thereafter, and also
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requires ARB to publish a penalty policy for motor
vehicle pollution laws that shall take into
consideration all relevant circumstances, including, but
not limited to, all of the following:
A. The extent of harm to public health, safety, and
welfare caused by the violation.
B. The nature and persistence of the violation,
including the magnitude of the excess emissions.
C. The compliance history of the defendant, including
the frequency of past violations.
D. The preventive efforts taken by the defendant,
including the record of maintenance and any program
to ensure compliance.
E. The innovative nature and the magnitude of the
effort required to comply, and the accuracy,
reproducibility, and repeatability of the available
test methods.
F. The efforts of the defendant to attain, or provide
for, compliance.
G. The cooperation of the defendant during the course
of the investigation and any action taken by the
defendant, including the nature, extent, and time of
response of any action taken to mitigate the
violation.
H. The financial burden to the defendant.
Comments
According to the author, "Numerous affected stakeholders
have repeated expressed concern over the lack of
information on how ARB determines and assesses penalties as
well as the lack of consistency from one violation to the
rest. This confusion undermines ARB's credibility and
effectiveness in achieving its core mission - protection of
air quality. This confusion also makes it increasingly
difficult for ARB to effectively resolve settlements or for
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regulated entities to comply with ARB regulations and to do
business in California."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund
Providing information Absorbable within existing
resources Special*
on alleged violations
Development of Up to $150
Special*
penalty policy
* Air Pollution Control Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/19/10)
Californians for Enforcement Reform and Transparency
(source)
American Home Furnishing Alliance
California Chapter of the American Fence Contractors
Association
California Dump Truck Owner Association
California Manufacturers and Technology Association
California Motorcycle Dealers Association
California Moving and Storage Association
California Retailers Association
Construction Industry Air Quality Association
Engineering Contractors Association
Flasher/Barricade Association
Independent Waste Oil Collectors and Transporters
Marine Builders Association
Moving and Storage Association
National Marine Manufacturers Association
Outdoor Power Equipment Institute
Sand Car Manufacturers Association
Southern California Contractors Association
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TSM:mw 5/19/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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