Banner Day on Global Warming in California: Senate Package Passes Assembly Committees, Including Two Bills Defeated Last Week

All of these bills did not pass the transportation committee without the vote being put "on call" until all of the Democratic members were present. Some of them need to be persuaded by the authors and voted for bills only after they were amended to resolve some of the concerns of opponents.

There was a good deal of drama, and when Assemblymember Solorio indicated his support for various bills during the debate, there was a murmur in the room as passage now seemed likely. Solorio added on as a coauthor of SB 974 on pollution and congestion at California's ports and complimented the author, Senator Lowenthal for his work and openness in drafting this major measure. Near the end of the three hour hearing, Senator Nell Soto abstained or voted against some of these measures. Committee Chair Pedro Nava crouched next to her and went over the details of the measures and provided the needed vote on some of these bills that she had been waivering on.

The amendments taken in committee, many of them described as "technical," did not gut any of these bills and they remain a strong package that will make a difference in the real world.

Senate President pro Tem Don Perata was jubilant about yesterday's votes, saying: “California is leading the way in the fight against global warming. These bills represent the sensible next steps we know we must take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve our air and plan better for the future.”

Yesterday's passed legislation includes:

• SB 9 and SB 19 by Senator Alan Lowenthal - Both bills implement measures to reduce diesel, black carbon, and other pollutants emissions from ports, diesel trucks, heavy construction equipment, and other sources. The bills use Proposition 1B funds to help fund these reductions. The bills passed the Assembly Transportation Committee.

• SB 974 by Senator Lowenthal – This bill levies a $30 per container user fee on each shipping container (20-foot equivalent) processed through the Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oakland. Half of the fee goes for projects that improve the overall efficiency of container cargo movement to and from the ports and the other half of the fee goes for projects that reduce air pollution caused by the movement of container cargo to and from these ports. SB 974 passed the Assembly Transportation Committee.

Lowenthal, who represents Long Beach, which has the largest port on the West Coast, said: “We are facing a public health crisis. Goods movement from our ports is resulting in the death of thousands of Californians each year. We will not continue to be the tailpipe for the rest of the nation. This package of bills helps address this growing problem by requiring that we only increase capacity as long as there is a corresponding reduction in toxic air emissions.”

• SB 375 by Senator Darrell Steinberg - Requires state transportation planning agencies to revise their planning guidelines to show progress in meeting state climate change targets as articulated in law and in the Climate Action Team Report. SB 375 passed the Assembly Transportation Committee.

Steinberg described this bill as linking local land use to AB 32's goals: “Far too many Californians find themselves stuck in traffic and breathing the dirty air that this traffic generates. Senate Bill 375 will move housing closer to job and shopping centers while also protecting farmland and open space – it’s a reasonable approach to reduce carbon emissions in this post-AB 32 world.”

Assemblymember Mark DeSaulnier brought laughter during the debate, wryly noting: "Everybody wants to get to heaven, but no one wants to die."

• SB 411 by Senator Joe Simitian - Eliminates the cap in current law on the amount of renewable energy resources state energy agencies can order utilities to buy. Authorizes state energy agencies to order utilities to buy or build more renewable energy up to one-third of their overall energy need in order to ensure the state meets its greenhouse gas emission goals. SB 411 passed the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

Simitian said: “California can and should act sooner rather than later to increase the use of renewable energy. Renewable energy provides an immediate response to the threat of global warming, cuts air pollution, reduces our dependence on foreign energy, and helps to limit the threat of another energy crisis. We need to set ourselves a clear target with a real deadline, and then make it as easy as possible to bring renewable energy on line.”

• SB 140 by Senator Christine Kehoe - Requires the California Air Resources Board to conduct an assessment of bio-diesel fuel to ensure it maintains or improves environmental quality and the California Energy Commission to make a determination about supply prior to implementation. If the assessment concludes the use of renewable diesel is beneficial, the board will modify the definition of diesel to include 2 percent renewable diesel. Two years later it will increase to 5 percent. SB 140 passed the Assembly Transportation Committee.

• SB 210 by Senator Kehoe - Establishes a low-carbon fuel standard. Requires the California State Air Resources Board to develop and administer a program to reduce the carbon content from transportation fuels refined and sold in California by 10 percent by 2020. The program would be applicable to all refiners, blenders, producers and importers of transportation fuels in the state. SB 210 passed the Assembly Transportation Committee.

• SB 1036 by Senator Perata - Authorizes the California Public Utilities Commission to allow investor-owned utilities to recover costs for renewable energy that are in excess of market prices. SB 1036 passed the Assembly Natural Resources Committee.

After securing passage of two of her bills by the transportation committee, Senator Kehoe told the committee that she was pulling a third measure, SB 494 on clean alternative vehicles from the agenda, saying it would be "not productive" (legislative speak for not having sufficient votes) to proceed further. SB 494 would have required the California Air Resources Board to ensure that 25% of new passenger and light-duty trucks, beginning in 2015 and sold in California are clean alternative vehicles (use fuels that have more than 50% nonpetroleum constituents). That number would have risen to 50% of these vehicles by 2020.

SB 494, in addition to being opposed by industry lobbyists, as were other bills, was heavily opposed by auto manufacturers. It remains eligible for passage next year.