BILL ANALYSIS
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 89
Author: Escutia (D), et al
Amended: 8/29/00
Vote: 21
SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/5/99
AYES: Sher, Alpert, Chesbro, Hayden, McPherson, O'Connell,
Solis
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-4, 1/26/00
AYES: Johnston, Alpert, Bowen, Burton, Escutia, Karnette,
McPherson, Vasconcellos
NOES: Johnson, Kelley, Leslie, Mountjoy
SENATE FLOOR : 24-13, 1/27/00
AYES: Alarcon, Alpert, Bowen, Burton, Chesbro, Dunn,
Escutia, Figueroa, Hayden, Hughes, Johnston, Karnette,
McPherson, Murray, O'Connell, Ortiz, Peace, Perata,
Polanco, Schiff, Sher, Solis, Speier, Vasconcellos
NOES: Brulte, Costa, Johnson, Kelley, Knight, Leslie,
Lewis, Monteith, Morrow, Mountjoy, Poochigian, Rainey,
Wright
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 44-30, 8/30/00 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Environmental justice
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Secretary of the
California Environmental Protection Agency to convene a
CONTINUED
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working group on environmental justice and to convene an
advisory committee to advise the working group. It also
requires reports updating the implementation of
environmental justice laws in California.
Assembly Amendments :
1.Require the advisory committee to convene in 2002 rather
than 2001.
2.Require the task force to assist the California
Environmental Protection Agency in developing an
interagency justice strategy.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Defines environmental justice in California as the "fair
treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes
with respect to the development, adoption,
implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws,
regulations, and policies."
2.Requires the California Environmental Protection Agency
(CalEPA) to develop a model environmental justice mission
statement for its departments, boards, and offices.
This bill:
1.Establishes a Working Group on environmental justice to
work within CalEPA that is specifically charged with
assisting the agency in developing the mission statement
that is required by Public Resources Code Section 72001.
2.The eight members of the working group are the Secretary
of CalEPA, and all the directors of CalEPA departments or
boards. The only non-CalEPA member is the director of
the Office of Planning and Research, whose agency is by
law charged with serving as the coordinating agency for
environmental justice efforts in California.
3.The working group is charged with several
responsibilities, including:
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A. Examining existing environmental justice studies
and consulting with state, federal, and local
agencies as well as affected communities.
B. Making recommendations to the Secretary regarding
gaps or deficiencies in existing programs that might
hinder the achievement of environmental justice.
C. Making recommendations regarding the translation
of documents into other languages and assisting in
holding meaningful public meetings.
D. Conducting public meetings and responding to
public comments.
4.Requires the Secretary to appoint an advisory committee
to assist the working group. Its membership will be
appointed by the Secretary with the following groups
represented:
A. Two local or regional land use planning agencies.
B. Two air district representatives.
C. Two representatives from certified unified program
agencies.
D. Two representatives from environmental
organizations.
E. Three representatives of the business community,
one from a small business and two representing large
businesses.
F. Two representatives from community organizations.
5.CalEPA is to provide a reasonable per diem for attendance
at advisory committee meetings to non-governmental
organizational representatives.
6.The Secretary of CalEPA is to prepare a report on the
implementation of this statute every three years,
beginning no later than January 1, 2006.
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Comments
The working group that is to be established will be
appointed by the Secretary and will be comprised of
representatives of state agencies with specific technical
or programming responsibilities. The working group is to
complete, by 2003, a series of recommendations on
implementing environmental justice procedures and polices
into CalEPA's programs. These recommendations are to
involve proposals to collect and coordinate data about
environmental justice, to increase public participation,
and to propose whatever else is necessary to create an
interagency environmental justice strategy.
The technical group that is to be appointed is to represent
local and regional land use planning agencies, air
pollution control districts, certified unified program
agencies, the public, and the business community. The
technical committee is to advise the working group.
The reporting requirement in the bill states that the
Secretary, not later than January 1, 2006, and every three
years thereafter, shall report to the Governor and the
Legislature on the implementation of CalEPA's environmental
justice strategy.
Related Legislation
SB 115 (Solis), Chapter 690, Statutes of 1999, establishes
the OPR as the lead agency in state government for
environmental justice programs.
Prior Legislation
Previous attempts to address environmental justice issues
in California include AB 937 (Roybal-Allard) of 1991
(vetoed), AB 3024 (Roybal-Allard) of 1992 (vetoed), and AB
2212 (Lee) of 1994 (refused passage on Senate Floor).
These bills required the submittal of "project site
demographics" ( e.g. population breakdown by race and
ethnicity; percent of persons under age 5, over age 65, and
belo" (e.g., hazardous waste, solid waste), and prohibited
an application for such a facility from being accepted as
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complete, deemed complete, or approved without this
information.
Four bills addressed environmental justice issues during
the 1997-98 session. SB 451 (Watson) required the general
plan land use element to include policies for the equitable
distribution of solid, hazardous, and liquid waste
facilities that avoid disproportionate effects on
low-income communities and minority communities, and
feasible implementation measures to achieve these policies.
SB 906 (Lee) required a hazardous waste management plan to
include demographic information within a 10-mile radius of
each hazardous waste facility and to include procedures for
considering environmental equity issues. SB 1113 (Solis)
was similar to this year's SB 115. AB 2237 (Escutia)
required "environmental agencies" to consider new selection
criteria ( e.g. , adverse human health or environmental
effects faced by an applicant's community, as compared to
other applicants' communities; amount of funding
commensurate with those effects) for some agency grant and
loan programs. SB 451, SB 1113, and AB 2237 were vetoed.
Senator Watson canceled an Environmental Quality Committee
hearing on SB 906.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee
analysis, this bill will cost $150,000 in fiscal year
2001-02.
SUPPORT : (Verified 1/26/00) (Unable to reverify at time
of writing)
California League of Conservation Voters
NOTE: The following groups were in support of the April
14, 1999, amended version.
American Lung Association
California Air Pollution Control Officer's Association
California Association of Real Estate Brokers
California Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Coalition (if
amended)
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California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance
(if amended)
California Nurses Association
City of Commerce
City of Los Angeles (if amended)
Clean Water Action
Communities for a Better Environment
East Bay Municipal Utility District
Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution District (if amended)
National Organization for Women, California
Residents for a Better Alhambra
Sierra Club
South Coast Air Quality Management District
OPPOSITION : (Verified 1/26/00) (Unable to reverify at
time of writing)
California Chamber of Commerce
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the League of
Conservation Voters:
"The bill creates the tools necessary for CalEPA to meet
its environmental justice mission, by requiring the agency
to create a Working Group on Environmental Justice. The
Working Group will help CalEPA determine how it can best
resolve program and policy gaps that must be filled in
order to achieve environmental justice."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Unavailable at time of this
writing.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Alquist, Aroner, Bock, Calderon, Cardenas, Cardoza,
Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Davis, Ducheny, Dutra,
Firebaugh, Floyd, Gallegos, Havice, Honda, Jackson,
Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Lempert, Longville, Lowenthal,
Machado, Mazzoni, Migden, Reyes, Romero, Scott, Shelley,
Steinberg, Strom-Martin, Thomson, Torlakson,
Villaraigosa, Vincent, Washington, Wayne, Wesson,
Wiggins, Wildman, Wright, Hertzberg
NOES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Ashburn, Baldwin, Bates, Battin,
Baugh, Brewer, Briggs, Campbell, Cox, Cunneen, Dickerson,
Granlund, House, Kaloogian, Leach, Leonard, Maddox,
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Maldonado, Margett, McClintock, Olberg, Robert Pacheco,
Rod Pacheco, Pescetti, Runner, Strickland, Thompson,
Zettel
CP:cm 9/12/00 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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