BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 170|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 170
Author: Pavley (D)
Amended: 7/12/11
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 5-1, 05/02/11
AYES: Simitian, Hancock, Kehoe, Lowenthal, Pavley
NOES: Blakeslee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Strickland
SENATE FLOOR : 25-14, 05/31/11
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, De Le�n,
DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu,
Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price,
Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Blakeslee, Cannella, Dutton, Emmerson,
Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, Runner,
Strickland, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Berryhill
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-27, 08/25/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Air pollution: districts
SOURCE : South Coast Air Quality Management District
DIGEST : This authorizes the districts to sponsor,
coordinate, and promote projects that will lead to the
prevention, mitigation, or cure of the adverse effects of
air pollution, including the adverse health effects of air
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pollution. The bill, until January 1, 2017, authorizes a
district to negotiate what share, if any, of the
intellectual property, or benefits resulting from
intellectual property, developed from the use of district
funds, including funds discharged as grants, will accrue to
that district. The bill requires revenues generated from
revenue sharing agreements to be deposited into a special
account and used for specified purposes. Under certain
circumstances, the bill would prohibit a district from
receiving a benefit pursuant to these provisions in excess
of the amount of the district's investment. If the state
or a subdivision of the state purchases or licenses a
process, machine, or article of manufacture for which a
district accrues a benefit resulting from the intellectual
property interest, the bill requires the district, upon the
request of the Department of General Services, to provide
reimbursement to the General Fund for the amount of the
benefit accrued. The bill requires a district that
attempts to negotiate for benefits pursuant to these
provisions to report annually to the Legislature, as
provided.
Assembly Amendments change the sunset date from 1/1/18 to
1/1/17, and make clarifying changes.
ANALYSIS : Existing law:
1.Provides the Air Resources Board 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. The Board must coordinate efforts to attain
and maintain ambient air quality standards.
2.Provides that districts have primary responsibility for
controlling air pollution from all sources, other than
emissions from mobile sources.
This bill, until 1/1/17:
1.Authorizes a district to sponsor, coordinate, and promote
projects that will lead to the prevention, mitigation, or
cure of adverse air pollution effects, including adverse
health effects of air quality.
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2.Authorizes a district to negotiate a share of
intellectual property (IP), or benefits of IP, developed
from use of district funds, including funds from grants
that will accrue to that district.
3.Authorizes a district to negotiate revenue sharing
agreements with recipients of district funds, including
collection of royalties. Proceeds obtained by the
district from these revenue sharing agreements must
accrue to the district and be deposited into a special
account that may only be used to: a) fund projects that
will lead to the prevention, mitigation, or cure of
adverse air pollution effects, including the adverse
effects of air pollution; or b) to fund projects to
reduce or mitigate air pollution through the development
or implementation of pollution controls, low or zero
polluting fuels or technologies prevention measures.
4.Limits the benefit accrued to the district, to the
district's initial investment in the development of a
process, machine, or article of manufacture if the
district adopts a rule or regulation mandating it after
its development.
5.Requires a district to reimburse the General Fund for the
amount of benefit accrued if the state purchases or
licenses a process, machine, or article of manufacture
for which the district accrues a benefit from an IP
interest negotiated under the above terms (#2 and 3
above), upon the request of the Department of General
Services.
6.A district that attempts to negotiate for benefits
pursuant to this section shall report annually to the
Legislature. The report shall include all of the
following:
A. The number of district-funded projects and the
number of district-funded projects for which a benefit
was negotiated, regardless of the outcome of the
negotiation.
B. The outcome of all negotiations regarding
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intellectual property pursuant to this section,
including agreed terms for revenue sharing.
C. A list of all district-funded projects from
previous years that have resulted in a benefit
pursuant to this section, if any, and the total amount
of that benefit to date.
1.A district may include a report required by this section
as part of another report submitted to the Legislature by
the district.
2.Does not apply to a contract governed by the Education
Code.
Comments
According to the author, "Air districts throughout the
state cosponsor and fund research, development,
demonstration and commercialization of clean technologies
to reduce or eliminate emissions. The deficiency in the
present law is that there is no clear authority for air
districts to share in revenue streams of ventures
resulting, in part, from their funding. Such additional
revenues would enable air districts to sponsor additional
research, achieve further reductions in diesel and toxic
emissions, and provide greater health protection in
impacted communities."
The author notes that "The California Institute for
Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and the California Energy
Commission's Public Interest Energy Research,
Demonstration, and Development (PIER) Program are prime
examples of what air districts hope to achieve, clear
authorization which allows them to negotiate revenue
sharing agreements with grant recipients."
According to the author, SB 170 "seeks to, on a voluntary
basis, allow state air districts the option to share in
revenues generated from the commercialization of IP
developed with air district research grant funding. Said
revenues would be deposited in a special account created by
the air district and spent on the prevention, mitigation,
or cure of the adverse effects of air pollution or to
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develop low-polluting fuels or technologies."
Related Legislation
AB 744 (P�rez) establishes the Office of Intellectual
Property in the Business, Transportation, and Housing
Agency to track IP generated by state employees and by
state funded research, and set related requirements (passed
to Assembly Appropriations Committee by Business,
Professions and Consumer Protection April 12, 2011 (6, 0)).
AB 2781 (Mullin) of 2006 established a similar office for
tracking IP (June 27, 2006, Senate Governmental
Organization hearing cancelled at request of author).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/25/11)
South Coast Air Quality Management District (source)
American Lung Association
Environmental Defense Fund
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 48-27, 08/25/11
AYES: Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler,
Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Davis, Dickinson, Eng,
Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Gatto, Gordon, Hayashi,
Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Lara,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Mitchell, Monning, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Skinner, Solorio,
Swanson, Torres, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Bill Berryhill, Conway, Cook, Donnelly,
Fletcher, Beth Gaines, Garrick, Grove, Hagman, Halderman,
Harkey, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Mansoor, Miller,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Silva, Smyth,
Valadao, Wagner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Charles Calderon, Galgiani,
Gorell, Hall
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DLW:nl 8/26/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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