BOARD MEETING DATE: May 6, 2016 AGENDA NO. 20

REPORT: Legislative Committee

SYNOPSIS: The Legislative Committee held a meeting on Friday, April 8, 2016. The next Legislative Committee meeting is scheduled for Friday, May 13, 2016 at 9 a.m. in Conference Room CC8.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Receive and file this report.

Judith Mitchell Chair Legislative Committee LBS:GSA:PFC

Attendance [Attachment 1] The Legislative Committee met on April 8, 2016. Committee Chair Judith Mitchell and Committee Member Janice Rutherford were present at the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) Diamond Bar headquarters. Committee Members Michael D. Antonovich, Joe Buscaino, Dr. William A. Burke, and Dr. Clark E. Parker attended via videoconference.

Report on Federal Legislative Issues SCAQMD’s federal legislative consultant Gary Hoitsma of the Carmen Group reported that Congress has returned from its Easter break and will begin negotiations over the proposed budget resolution which is critical to pass if there is to be any chance of returning the appropriations process to some regular order.

Just before the recess began last month, the House Budget Committee passed a budget resolution, but it is unlikely that there will be enough votes to pass it on the House floor by the April 15 deadline. The more probable scenario is that appropriations will likely be completed through an omnibus bill in a lame duck session after the November election.

Mr. Hoitsma then noted that just before the break, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, chaired by Congressman Ken Calvert, held a budget oversight hearing on the Administration's FY 2017 Budget proposal for U.S. EPA. SCAQMD staff worked with the Carmen Group to provide Chairman Calvert with suggested questions to ask U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. Those questions were submitted as a part of the record, to which U.S. EPA will provide written responses.

Chairman Calvert specifically mentioned the South Coast Air Basin’s significant pollution issues, SCAQMD’s efforts to clean up the air, and the need for U.S. EPA to continue to support programs like the Targeted Airshed Grant Program and Diesel Emission Reduction Act (DERA). He also specifically mentioned the new 70 ppb ozone standard, which the Basin cannot meet without federal ‘fair share’ support. Administrator McCarthy said she appreciated the work of SCAQMD and she agreed with Calvert regarding the value of the DERA and Targeted Airshed Grant programs.

Mr. Hoitsma also reported on a bill introduced by Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, D.C. (H.R. 4675 - No Lead in the Air Act of 2016). Delegate Norton seeks to include her legislation as an amendment into the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization legislation. Currently, FAA provisions have been extended through short-term legislation until July 2016. However, a longer term FAA Reauthorization bill is still being negotiated.

Finally, Mr. Hoitsma stated that there has been some movement by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) regarding the implementation of Section 1413 of the current surface transportation bill, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which calls for the designation of National Corridors that provide for electric vehicle charging and hydrogen, propane, and natural gas fueling infrastructure. FHWA will be holding listening sessions to solicit feedback from the public. SCAQMD has contacted the FHWA and extended an offer to host one of these listening sessions at the District's Headquarters.

Committee Chair Mitchell inquired about the accessibility of about $10 billion in goods movement funds provided for in the FAST Act and wanted to confirm that a portion of those funds were set aside for California. Mr. Hoitsma confirmed that $10 billion over five years was included as part of the Freight Program in the FAST Act, which allocates formula money to states, including California, and also creates a discretionary grant program. Chair Mitchell asked that the Committee be updated periodically on the grant program so that SCAQMD might be able to take advantage of these funds. Committee Member Burke inquired if there was a formula set for the distribution of the funds going to the states. Mr. Hoitsma said there is and that it follows closely the complicated highway funding distribution formula, which involves numerous factors. He stated that this money flows from the federal government through the departments of

-2- transportation in each state. At Committee Member Burke’s request, Mr. Hoitsma affirmed he would look up California’s portion of funds and provide it later that same day, for distribution to SCAQMD Board Members.

SCAQMD’s federal legislative consultant Tom Dennis of Cassidy Group reported that the two legislative vehicles – the Senate Energy Bill and the Safe Pipes Act – used to carry the Boxer/Feinstein Aliso Canyon Task Force Amendment, are still pending in Congress. However, the Administration announced recently that it will launch a new Interagency Task Force on Natural Gas Storage Safety to address issues raised by the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak. The task force will be co-chaired by the Department of Energy's Undersecretary for Energy and Science, Dr. Franklin “Lynn” Orr and Marie Theresa Dominguez, the Administrator of the Pipeline Safety and Materials Safety Administration at the Department of Transportation. A number of other Federal agencies will be part of the Task Force, including representatives from the U.S. EPA, the Department of Interior's Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Health and Human Services and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Mr. Dennis shared that the Task Force will hold workshops with industry, state and local leaders, and stakeholders to support development of best practices for ensuring well integrity and proper response plans and safe operations of storage facilities, and intends to publish its findings later this year; but it is now in its formative stages. The Task Force intends to coordinate with state and local agencies in California as part of its work. The respective designees from each Department on the Task Force have been identified and their contact information has been provided to SCAQMD staff. The developments of the Task Force will continue to be monitored and reported on so that recommendations can be made on how SCAQMD can best contribute to the Task Force’s mission.

Mr. Dennis reported that a U.S. District Court judge has given Volkswagen (VW) until April 21 to come up with a plan to bring the nearly 500,000 offending diesel vehicles in the United States into compliance. The Judge has declared that if VW does not offer an acceptable remedy by April 21, he will “consider” going ahead with a trial this summer. This effort is only a remedy to “stop the bleeding” of the continued NOx pollution from non-compliant VW diesel vehicles on the roads. All other penalties (punitive damages, FTC complaint, U.S. EPA penalties, class action lawsuits, etc.) are to be determined and not part of this negotiation between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and VW. VW is negotiating with DOJ behind closed doors on an appropriate remedy now. The most commonly suggested approach is to recall the offending vehicles and retrofit them with appropriate emissions controls. For some vehicles, this would require a simple software fix. However, there are retrofits required for the initial 115,000 of these vehicles that would be a hardware fix (which apparently is not currently available or approved by U.S. EPA) and would be so complex and costly that other remedies, including simple

-3- buy-backs, appear to be on the table. At this point, there is only speculation concerning penalties to which VW might be subjected, but it ranges from the low to high $20 billion levels.

Mr. Dennis further reported that the Center for American Progress is calling for DOJ to require VW to mitigate or offset the NOx emissions from its vehicles by replacing or retrofitting diesel engines in publicly operated vehicle fleets – buses, garbage trucks, etc. – with cleaner technologies. This would be much in the style of U.S. EPA’s Clean Diesel program. Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, has suggested requiring VW to manufacture and market natural gas vehicles as part of any mitigation efforts. Consumer advocacy groups such as Consumer Watchdog are calling for VW to issue buy-backs of all vehicles (not just retrofits). The various proposals will continue to be actively monitored.

SCAQMD’s federal legislative consultant Mark Kadesh of Kadesh & Associates reported that although a Continuing Resolution or possibly an omnibus appropriations bill are still the most likely outcomes, the Appropriations committees are beginning to move forward on the FY 2017 appropriations bills. In the Senate, the Energy and Water appropriations bill is expected to be one of the first bills out of committee. In connection with that bill, SCAQMD is working with Senator Feinstein's staff on report language that would direct the Department of Energy to fund zero-emissions projects. This would be a continuation of past successful efforts working with Senator Feinstein to receive similar zero emission project funds.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is planning to hold a hearing on H.R. 4775 - Ozone Standards Implementation Act, a bill by Congressman Pete Olson (R- TX). This bill would among other things change the Review and Implementation schedule for ozone standards. It will also include technological feasibility as a criteria for establishing and revising the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). It also stipulates that prior to establishing or revising a national ambient air quality standard, the Administrator shall take into account adverse public health, welfare, social, economic, or energy effects. A positive sign for this bill is that it includes Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy as one of the 10 co-sponsors. If the legislation were to pass the House it is anticipated that it would face opposition in the Senate where one Senator can place a hold on legislation and given the short legislative year due to the election, this bill could face an uphill battle. Also, since 1990, Congress has not been able to pass any significant amendments to the Clean Air Act. However, several members of the South Coast Congressional Delegation are sympathetic to the difficult situation the SCAQMD is in, given federal law requirements, by a lack of jurisdiction or sufficient tools to address numerous major federal sources of pollution. This bill could help highlight this fairness issue of the federal government not doing its part. This legislation will continue to be monitored.

-4- Committee Member Rutherford requested that HR 4775 (Olson) be agendized for the May Legislative Committee meeting to be considered for a position. Chair Mitchell responded in the affirmative.

Update on State Legislative Issues SCAQMD’s state legislative consultant Paul Gonsalves of Joe A. Gonsalves & Son reported that the recently sworn in Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon has the rare opportunity to potentially serve as the Assembly Speaker for nine years, which no one has done since Willie Brown. During the 34 years prior to Willie Brown’s Speakership, there were only five Assembly Speakers. In the 21 years since Willie Brown was Speaker, there have been 12 Assembly Speakers. Having a long-term Speaker would bring back a sense of stability to the Legislature. Further, the current Speaker is shifting power back to the legislative committee chairs by allowing them to be “strong” chairs that decide the policy moving forward out of their Committees. Speaker Rendon will not carry any bills this year. Instead, he is going to focus largely on the needs of his members. We are seeing a culture change starting from the top. However, the Speaker did make many changes to Committee Chair assignments, however not so much with the policy committees that SCAQMD deals with the most:

 Assembly Luis Alejo remains Chair of Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee;  Assembly Das Williams remains Chair of Assembly Natural Resources Committee; and  Assembly Mike Gatto becomes Chair of Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee.

All three Chairs are termed out in November, meaning we will see new chairs of these Committees early next year.

Mr. Gonsalves informed the Committee that last month the Governor appointed Catalina Hayes-Bautista as Deputy Secretary for Legislative Affairs at the California EPA. Catalina started her career as a Capitol Fellow, then went on to become Legislative aide to Assemblymember Fiona Ma, Legislative Director for Senator Ricardo Lara, and Legislative staff to Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins on environmental issues. Catalina is someone that SCAQMD has worked well with and will remain someone we continue working with moving forward.

Mr. Gonsalves reported that with regard to the clean-up of the Exide Plant, in August 2015, there was $7 million of emergency funding allocated for three tasks:

 Test soil at up to 1,500 properties surrounding the Exide plant for lead;  Develop a comprehensive cleanup plan; and  Begin cleanup of the highest priority sites.

-5- To date, the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has removed more than 10,000 tons of contaminated soil and analyzed more than 20,000 soil samples from hundreds of properties in the area. Governor Brown is now proposing a $176.6 million General Fund loan to expedite and expand testing of all properties within the 1.7 mile radius of the Exide facility, with a focus on removing contaminated soil where lead levels are the highest and exposure is the greatest. In addition to cleaning up the properties, DTSC will do further testing and analyzing in an attempt to identify the responsible parties of the contamination. Should they be able to identify those parties, they will be held responsible to reimburse the State for their share of the $176 million loan. The plan also provides:

 Resources to expand community engagement in the testing and cleanup process;  Enhances job coordination and training for community residents; and  Promotes the use of local business and labor for contracting purposes.

The bills to accomplish this proposal are SB 93 and AB 118, both of which are budget trailer bills and will most likely be adopted as part of the State’s Budget in June.

The Senate Budget Subcommittee recently heard and passed SB 93 and the Assembly Budget Subcommittee heard and passed AB 118. Both bills still have to be heard in their respective second house.

Finally, Mr. Gonsalves reminded the Committee about the following upcoming legislative deadlines:

 April 22 - Last day for policy committees to hear and report to fiscal committees fiscal bills introduced in their house;  May 6 - Last day for policy committees to hear and report to the Floor non-fiscal bills introduced in their house;  May 27 - Last day for fiscal committees to hear and report to the Floor bills introduced in their house;  June 3 - Last day for each house to pass bills introduced in that house; and  June 15 - Budget Bill must be passed by midnight.

Committee Member Burke asked who was the recipient of the $176.6 million General Fund loan related to the Exide clean-up. Mr. Gonsalves responded that the loan recipient is DTSC, who is also tasked with finding the parties responsible for the contamination and for recovering costs from those parties. Dr. Burke asked for clarification as to why this was a loan and Mr. Gonsalves responded that it was because the Governor wanted to make money immediately available for clean-up, but to also emphasize that it is the responsible parties who should actually be paying for the clean- up. Chair Mitchell asked if Exide would be one of those responsible parties and Mr.

-6- Gonsalves responded that Exide would be, along with previous operators of the battery recycling plant site.

SCAQMD’s state legislative consultant Will Gonzalez of Gonzalez, Quintana, Hunter & Cruz provided an additional update on various key Sacramento issues.

Committee Member Antonovich asked for an update relating to the Aliso Canyon storage field, given that there has been movement to possibly re-pressurize the nearly 50 year-old facility. First Mr. Gonzalez reported on current SCAQMD-supported Aliso Canyon Legislation pending in Sacramento:

SB 380 (Pavley) - places a moratorium on activity at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility until the Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) determine it is safe. This bill is moving the fastest and is in Assembly Appropriations Committee, so it is very close to passing from the Legislature and going to the Governor. This bill has had no opposition and is an urgency bill.

SB 887 (Pavley) - is a long-term bill that includes broad reform of natural gas storage facilities. It is not limited to Aliso Canyon. It does numerous things, including requiring the retirement of substandard wells, and enhances the public’s right to know and transparency. There is no registered opposition. SCAQMD, Porter Ranch neighborhood groups, and environmentalists are supporting this bill.

SB 888 (Allen) - establishes the Office of Emergency Services (OES) as the lead agency in emergency responses to gas leaks. It also establishes a fund that would receive any penalties levied after a leak. This bill has no registered opposition.

In addition Mr. Gonzalez reported on AB 1903 (Wilk) – this bill is pending in the Assembly Health Committee and addresses health impacts by requiring a long-term study of the health impacts of the Aliso Canyon leak for residents within a 12 mile radius of the accident. This bill has no opposition and is pending being brought before this Committee for a possible SCAQMD position.

Mr. Gonzalez informed the Committee that while the Aliso Canyon leak has sparked numerous bills targeted specifically at natural gas storage, it has also brought significant renewed attention to natural gas use in the state. Environmental groups are increasingly turning their focus to reducing natural gas use. However, the natural gas conversation is also heating up with regards to electricity generation reliability. The California Energy Commission recently released a report about the possibility that Southern California could experience rolling blackouts this summer due to a lack of readily accessible natural gas. The contrasting needs to protect public safety versus the need to prevent rolling blackouts are developing into significant opposing factions.

-7- Some related bills are focused on the overall energy issue, including: AB 2460 (Irwin) which would create a billion dollar program to incentivize solar thermal projects in homes and businesses to heat water, instead of heating by natural gas.

Other notable bills include:

 SB 1441 (Leno) targets methane leaks from natural gas pipelines and would require those emissions to be accounted for under the cap and trade program; and  SB 1383 (Lara) – this bill would mandate reductions in methane emissions.

Mohsen Nazemi, SCAQMD Deputy Executive Officer, Engineering & Compliance, gave an update on the latest efforts to address Aliso Canyon Leak issues, including an upcoming workshop by numerous agencies to look at the reliability of electricity generation for the summer in Southern California in light of the gas storage problem.

Matt Klopfenstein, also of Gonzalez, Quintana, Hunter & Cruz, reported on electric vehicles and the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF). He stated that there is a big- picture conversation in the Capitol regarding low carbon transportation. Two bills focused on increasing zero and near-zero emission transportation are:

AB 1710 (Calderon) – this bill is looking towards more long-term programs. It directs the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to create new incentive programs, in addition to the existing Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP), and also creates additional tax incentives, to facilitate the purchase of zero emission vehicles. This bill is to be funded by the GGRF; and

AB 1851 (Gray) increases the CVRP incentives, with larger increases for low-income purchasers. This bill also limits the value of a qualifying car to $60,000. It also creates an incentive for any businesses that purchase charging infrastructure and is to be funded by the GGRF.

The Governor proposed $500 million in funding from the GGRF to fund low carbon transportation programs. This amount is derived from both FY 2015-16 and FY 2016-17 monies and is not as much as some would like. The California Electric Transportation Coalition (CalETC) is a coalition of many stakeholders in the electricity and transportation industry that is requesting significantly more funding than what the Governor is proposing ($670 million per year over three years) to go to CARB for the Low Carbon Transportation Program.

-8- Recommend Position on Federal and State Bills The consideration of the three agendized bills was postponed until the May 2016 Legislative Committee meeting.

Reports from SCAQMD Home Rule Advisory Group [Attachment 2] Please refer to Attachment 2 for written report.

Other Business: None

Public Comment Period: Susan Stark commented that SB 1387 (De Léon) was recently amended and addresses the makeup of the SCAQMD Board and possibly RECLAIM.

Attachments 1. Attendance Record 2. SCAQMD Home Rule Advisory Group Report

-9- Attachment 1

ATTENDANCE RECORD –April 8 2016

SCAQMD BOARD MEMBERS: Councilmember Judith Mitchell, Chair Supervisor Antonovich (Videoconference) Dr. William A., Burke (Videoconference) Councilmember Joe Buscaino (Videoconference) Dr. Clark E. Parker, Sr. (Videoconference) Supervisor Janice Rutherford

STAFF TO COMMITTEE: Lisha B. Smith, Deputy Executive Officer Derrick Alatorre, Assistant Deputy Executive Officer/ Public Advisor Guillermo Sanchez, Senior Public Affairs Manager Julie Franco, Senior Administrative Secretary

SCAQMD STAFF: Leeor Alpern, Senior Public Information Specialist (Videoconference) Barbara Baird, Chief Deputy Counsel Tina Cox, Senior Public Information Specialist Philip Crabbe, Community Relations Manager Phil Fine, Deputy Executive Officer Lori Langrell, Secretary Chris Marlia, Assistant Deputy Executive Officer Matt Miyasato, Deputy Executive Officer Wayne Nastri, Acting Executive Officer Mohsen Nazemi, Deputy Executive Officer Mike O’Kelly, Chief Financial Officer Robert Paud Telecommunications Supervisor Ricardo Rivera, Staff Specialist (Videoconference) Jeanette Short, Senior Administrative Secretary Kim White, Public Affairs Specialist Patti Whiting, Staff Specialist

OTHERS PRESENT: Mark Abramowitz, Governing Board Member Consultant (Lyou) Jesse Barba, Cassidy & Associates (teleconference) David Czamanske, Governing Board Member Consultant (Cacciotti) Tom Dennis, Cassidy & Associates (teleconference) Kaleb Froehlich, Cassidy & Associates (teleconference) Paul Gonsalves, Joe A. Gonsalves & Son (teleconference) Will Gonzalez, Gonzalez, Quintana, Hunter & Cruz (teleconference) Sue Gornick, WSPA Tom Gross, SCE Stewart Harris, The Carmen Group Gary Hoitsma,The Carmen Group Amelia Jenkins, (Cassidy & Associates (teleconference) Matt Klopfenstein, Gonzalez, Quintana, Hunter & Cruz (teleconference) Mark Kadesh, Kadesh & Associates Chris Kierig, Kadesh & Associates Bill LaMarr, California Small Business Alliance Chung Liu, Governing Board Member Consultant (Mitchell) Rita Loof, RadTech Margot Malarkey, Association of American Railroads Erick Martell, Port of Los Angeles (Videoconference) Debra Mendelsohn, Governing Board Member Consultant (Antonovich) Noel Muyco, SoCalGas David Rothbart, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts Andrew Silva, Governing Board Member Consultant (Rutherford) Susan Stark, Tesoro Lupe Valdez, Union Pacific Railroad Lee Wallace, SoCalGas Warren Weinstein, Kadesh & Associates Peter Whittingham, Curt Pringle & Associates

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SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT

LEGISLATIVE REPORT FROM HOME RULE ADVISORY GROUP MEETING OF MARCH 23, 2016

HRAG members present: Dr. Joseph Lyou, Chairman Dr. Philip Fine, SCAQMD Elizabeth Adams, EPA (participated by phone) Curt Coleman, Southern California Air Quality Alliance Chris Gallenstein, CARB (participated by phone) Sue Gornick, WSPA Jayne Joy, Eastern Municipal Water District (participated by phone) Bill LaMarr, California Small Business Alliance Rongsheng Luo, SCAG (participated by phone) Art Montez, AMA International Noel Muyco, SoCalGas Bill Quinn, CCEEB Terry Roberts, American Lung Association of California David Rothbart, Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts Larry Smith, Cal Portland Company TyRon Turner, Dakota Communications

Others: Mark Abramowitz (Board Consultant to Dr. Lyou); Ron Ketcham (Board Consultant to Mayor Larry McCallon); Rita Loof (RadTech); Peter Whittingham (CP&A); and Susan Stark (Tesoro).

SCAQMD Staff: Jill Whynot, Bill Wong, Philip Crabbe, Aaron Katzenstein, Lilia Miranda, Kelly Trainor Gamino, and Marilyn Traynor

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE Philip Crabbe reported on the following items that were discussed at the Legislative Committee meeting on March 11, 2016.

Federal The U.S. Senate continues to consider the Energy Policy Modernization Act (EPMA). However, the bill remains in legislative limbo on the Senate floor. Of interest to the SCAQMD in this bill is:

 Senators Boxer and Feinstein’s Aliso Canyon Task Force amendment added to the bill; and  The Vehicle Innovation Act of 2015, which enhances the Advanced Vehicle Technology Program at the Department of Energy, to develop and improve fuel efficiency and emissions of all vehicles produced in the United States. Included in this section is: 1 o A program specifically focused on advanced technology for medium to heavy duty commercial, vocational, recreational and transit vehicles.

Senators Boxer and Feinstein have also successfully included the Aliso Canyon Task Force amendment in the Securing America’s Future Energy: Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 (Safe Pipes Act). The Safe Pipes Act is non-controversial and recently passed the Senate by unanimous consent and will now move to the House of Representatives for consideration. It has been referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

A series of letters from SCAQMD were delivered to key House delegation members requesting their support for the Boxer-Feinstein Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Leak Task Force Amendment. SCAQMD representatives had good discussions with House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s staff requesting his support on this issue.

Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) introduced the No Lead in the Air Act of 2016 to prohibit the use of lead in aircraft fuel by the year 2021. This legislation will phase out lead in aircraft fuel within five years. This bill likely faces an uphill climb in the House.

Congressional Appropriations subcommittees have begun their hearing process regarding the 12 appropriations bills, and it is possible that markups of these bills will be held by the end of March or beginning of April.

It was mentioned that there are plans for an SCAQMD delegation trip to Washington, D.C. in May 2016 and Board members from the Legislative Committee and the overall Governing Board are invited.

House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy are trying to expedite the appropriations process to at least get all 12 bills completed on the House side before Congress recesses in July. However, they are running into difficulties in getting their most conservative members to join in support of a budget resolution based on the higher spending levels agreed to with the Democrats last year.

State There is a new Assembly Speaker and about 3,000 new bills are making their way through the Legislature, many of which are of interest to SCAQMD.

With respect to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), $3.1 billion in unallocated funding remain from last year. Several legislators have introduced bills that propose to use GGRF moneys, including:

 AB 1657 (O’Donnell) - attempts to improve air quality around ports and terminals. This bill creates two programs to fund: 1) Zero emission (ZE) and near ZE

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equipment at the ports; 2) Port building lighting and efficiency, including use of renewable energy;  AB 2293 (C. Garcia) – provides technical assistance to help small businesses in disadvantaged communities better compete for GGRF funds;  AB 2343 (C. Garcia) - focused on helping disadvantaged communities by providing certainty through longer-term allocations; and  AB 1550 (Gomez) - seeks to have 25% of GGRF funds spent in disadvantaged communities, with an additional 25% spent to specifically benefit low income Californians. This is a top priority of the environmental justice community.

The Legislative Committee also discussed legislation involving natural gas and Aliso Canyon and biomethane issues. There seem to be two themes for these bills - those dealing with Aliso Canyon and gas storage, and those focused on reducing natural gas use generally. Many of the bills are still in spot form. One key bill is SB 1441 (Leno) which is focused on combatting fugitive emissions and any upstream methane leakage by placing such emissions within the cap and trade program.

There are a little over 20 California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) related bills and most of them are currently in spot form.

The following bills relating to the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program (EFMP) and the Clean Vehicle Rebate Project (CVRP) were also discussed:  AB 1710 (Calderon) - looks towards a long-term replacement for CVRP to better jumpstart electric vehicles (EVs) in terms of making them more mainstream;  Also, helping disadvantaged communities is a primary focus of this type of legislation: o AB 2145 (Linder) - allows low-income purchasers of EVs to reduce the value of their car for tax purposes by the incentive amount they received; and o AB 1691 (Gipson) - promotes more clean vehicles in disadvantaged communities by adding into the EFMP a sub-program with the goal of replacing 10,000 vehicles annually in such communities.

February 19 was the last day for bills to be introduced; there are currently about 4,000 bills active in the Legislature. All bills are subject to a 30-days-in-print requirement before they can be heard in a committee. For many of these bills, the 30-day period ends on March 19. However, March 17 - March 27 is the legislative Spring Recess which means that Committee hearings will not actually start until the week of March 28 when they return.

Assemblymember Anthony Rendon was recently sworn in as the new Assembly Speaker. Speaker Rendon recently announced his new Leadership Team and, in addition, he announced new Committee Chairs for the following committees:

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 Appropriations - Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego)  Budget - Assemblymember Phil Y. Ting (D-San Francisco)  Health - Assemblymember Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg)

Discussion Mr. Bill LaMarr inquired as to whether there was an SCAQMD briefing at the Capitol in Sacramento in April planned. Mr. Crabbe responded in the affirmative, clarifying that the briefing is tentatively scheduled for mid-April and that this is generally more of a staff to staff briefing. However, SCAQMD Board members are welcome to come and Legislative members at times attend.

Mr. Bill Quinn inquired about the status of proposed legislation by Senator Kevin de León which would seek to add three additional members to the SCAQMD Board. Mr. Crabbe responded that it appears that this legislation has been announced, but that there is currently no actual bill language or number.

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