Significant environmental legislation which became law included: SB 23 (Cogdill) requiring the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District to develop and implement a voluntary program to replace high polluting vehicles with donated low-emission motor vehicles; SB 85 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee) enacting the resources trailer bill to the 2007 State Budget; SB 97 (Dutton) requiring the Office of Planning and Research to develop guidelines that relate to greenhouse gas emissions mitigation and make changes to statute to restrict the application of the California Environmental Quality Act for the effects of greenhouse gas emissions from transportation projects funded by Proposition 1B; SB 162 (Negrete McLeod) requiring local agency formation commissions to consider the extent to which a proposal will promote environmental justice when reviewing boundary change proposals; SB 341 (Lowenthal) allowing applicants for an enterprise zone designation to prepare a negative declaration or mitigated declaration if the lead agency determines that those documents rather than an environmental report are necessary; SB 384 (Cogdill) updating the state's world trout program; SB 701 (Wiggins) reinstating the California Forest Legacy Program; SB 719 (Machado) increasing the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control Districts governing board; SB 742 (Steinberg) extending the sunset date on the Off-highway Motor Vehicles Law until 2018 and makes substantive changes; SB 774 (Ridley-Thomas) reducing exposure to lead resulting from imported glass soda bottles decorated with lead-containing paints; SB 880 (Calderon) repealing, until January 1, 2011, the state prohibition and criminal penalty on the importation or sale of kangaroo parts or products in California; SB 884 (Lowenthal) prohibiting an "interested person" from giving, and a commissioner of the California Coastal Commission from accepting, a gift greater than $10; SB 898 (Simitian) extending, for five years, the Rare and Endangered Species Preservation income tax checkoff; SB 990 (Kuehl) consolidating the oversight of the chemical and radioactive contamination remediation of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory site under the lead agency authority of the Department of Toxic Substances Control; SB 1021 (Padilla) allowing up to $15 million in grants for one year to place source separated beverage container recycling receptacles in multifamily housing; SB 1028 (Padilla) requiring the Air Resources Board to adopt rules and regulations governing motor vehicles emissions that are necessary, cost-effective, and technologically feasible that together with other measures will achieve federal ambient air quality standards; SB 1036 (Perata) making changes in the refund provisions of the Renewable Portfolio Standard Program, a program for the purchase of renewable energy; AB 118 (Nunez) enacting the California Alternative and Renewable Fuel Vehicle Technology, Clean Air, and Carbon Reduction Act of 2007 and establishing the Enhanced Fleet Modernization Program and the Air Quality Improvement Program; AB 188 (Aghazarian) expanding information required to be included in the states central public registry of conservation easements; AB 233 (Jones) enhancing the enforcement of diesel emission regulations; AB 236 (Lieu) enhancing current policies regarding the purchase of vehicle for state and local government fleets in order to increase fuel efficiency and the use of alternative fuels; AB 258 (Krekorian) establishing a plastic debris eradication program to reduce the amount of preproduction plastics entering the marine environment; AB 292 (Blakeslee) extending the sunset date on the Nuclear Planning Assessment Special Account from July 1, 2009 to July 1, 2019; AB 294 (Adams) requiring the Air Resources Board to study ambient air concentrations of manganese to determine where unhealthy concentrations may be in the state and report its findings to the Legislature by January 1, 2010; AB 422 (Hancock) increasing the consistency between the cleanup standards required by the State Water Resources Control Board applicable to waste discharges and cleanup standards required by the Department of Toxic Substances Control applicable to hazardous waste sites; AB 715 (Laird) phasing in lower flush volume requirements for water closets and urinals; AB 740 (Laird) expanding the marine invasive species program; AB 800 (Lieu) enhancing the law regarding the emergency notification and reporting of raw sewage spills; AB 821 (Nava) enacting the California Toxic Release Inventory Program that mirrors the federal Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Release Inventory (TRI); AB 868 (Davis) requiring the California Energy Commission, in partnership with the Department of Food and Agriculture and the Air Resources Board, to conduct a survey on the effect of temperatures on fuel deliveries; AB 1023 (DeSaulnier) exempting compostable and biodegradable trash bags from California's recycled-content requirements for plastic trash bags, as specified; AB 1056 (Leno) allowing the Ocean Protection Council to establish a science advisory team and allowing Council-approved expenditures without the approval of the State Coastal Conservancy; AB 1098 (Saldana) enhancing the Certified Unified Program Agency program regarding the imposition of administrative and criminal penalties relating to the handling and release of hazardous materials; AB 1103 (Saldana) requiring electric or gas utilities to provide owners or operators of nonresidential buildings with specified information regarding the energy consumption of the building, and for building owners to provide such information to prospective tenants and owners; AB 1108 (Ma) prohibiting the use of phthalates in toys and childcare products designed for babies and children under three years of age; AB 1109 (Huffman) prohibiting the manufacturing for sale or the sale of certain general purpose lights that contain hazardous substances; AB 1130 (Laird) transferring responsibility for the aboveground storage tank inspection program and fee collection from the State Water Resources Control Board and the regional water quality control boards to the local Unified Program Agencies; AB 1144 (Maze) updating provisions of law relating to sport fishing and commercial fishing; AB 1187 (DeSaulnier) increasing the penalties for illegal sale or possession of sturgeon or lobster; AB 1220 (Laird) enhancing the law relating to the Oiled Wildlife Care Network and the Oil Spill Prevention and Response Program; AB 1280 (Laird) adding grants or loans for development and implementation of fishery management plans under the Marine Life Management Act to the list of projects or activities for which the Ocean Protection Council may expend monies from the California Ocean Protection Trust Fund; AB 1371 (Ruskin) imposing civil penalties for the intentional or negligent management of hazardous waste at an unauthorized site; AB 1396 (Laird) requiring certain state and regional transportation planning agencies to coordinate with the State Coastal Conservancy, California Coastal Commission, and Department of Transportation regarding development of the California Coastal Trail; AB 1426 (Wolk) requiring the Department of Parks and Recreation to develop a plan to implement its Central Valley Vision, as specified, by January 1, 2009; AB 1447 (Calderon) making changes to the Certified Appliance Recycler statute to allow for more efficient management and recycling of major appliances; AB 1470 (Huffman) creating the Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007, a $250 million subsidy program for solar hot water heaters with the goal of promoting the installation of 200,000 solar hot water systems in California by 2017; AB 1473 (Feuer) allowing a solid waste local enforcement agency to stay the issuance of a cease and desist order if a source-separated facility meets specified requirements; AB 1488 (Mendoza) including diesel-powered vehicles manufactured after the 1997 model-year and diesel-powered vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of less than 8,501 pounds into the biennial smog check program, starting January 1, 2010; AB 1515 (Huffman) requiring the California Energy Commission to incorporate standards for water efficiency and conservation into the existing regulations governing energy efficiency; AB 1568 (Berg) designating the portion of the Ma-le'l Dunes in Humboldt County that is part of the California Coastal Trail as the Senator Wesley Chesbro Coastal Trail; AB 1613 enacting the Waste Heat and Carbon Emissions Reduction Act which relates to the utilization of excess waste heat through combined heat and power distributed generation technologies; AB 1683 (Wolk) allowing the Department of Fish and Game and other state agencies, as specified, to control dreissenid mussels in California; and AB 1714 allowing the Public Utilities Commission to delay a requirement that time variant electricity pricing be used for solar energy customers.
Vetoed environmental legislation included: SB 210 (Kehoe) requiring the Air Resources Board to adopt, implement, and enforce a low-carbon fuel standard by regulation to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels in California; SB 451 (Kehoe) creating a program that allows small-scale renewable generators to sell renewable electricity to the investor-owned utilities at rates set by the Public Utilities Commission; SB 660 (Perata) establishing the Strategic Research Investment Council to coordinate the expenditure of various state research, development, and demonstration funds, with a focus on climate change; SB 669 (Torlakson) requiring the Great California Delta Trail plan to promote water conservation, encourage greater infill and compact development, protect natural resources and agricultural lands, and revitalize urban and community centers, in a manner that is consistent with the delta resources management plan as developed by the Delta Protection Commission; AB 35 (Ruskin) enacting the Sustainable Building Act of 2007; AB 48 (Saldana) expanding the prohibition on the sale of all electronic devices in California that are prohibited from sale in the European Union by the Reduction of Hazardous Substances directive; AB 449 (Strickland) requiring persons trapping certain nongame and furbearing mammals for profit to use methods of euthanasia approved by the American Veterinary Medical Association and clarifies, if such methods are not available, when specified methods of gunshot may be used; AB 484 (Nava) prohibiting the Department of Transportation contractors from disposing of asphalt concrete or Portland cement concrete in a solid waste landfill, except under certain conditions; AB 527 (Torrico) establishing a plan to include energy efficient technology in public buildings; AB 532 (Wolk) extending, by two years, a requirement that the Department of General Services in consultation with the California Energy Commission ensure that solar energy equipment is installed on all state buildings, state parking facilities, and state owned swimming pools, where feasible; AB 546 (Brownley) requiring a retailer of an electronic device to provide a customer with specified information relating to electronic waste recycling; AB 548 (Levine) requiring, on and after July 1, 2008, an owner of a multifamily dwelling consisting of five or more living units to arrange for recycling services; AB 785(Hancock) minimizing the urban island effect; AB 828 (Ruskin) requiring the Department of Fish and Game to investigate, study, and identify those areas in the state that are most essential as wildlife corridors and habitat linkages; AB 888 (Lieu) requiring the use of green building standards in the construction and renovation of commercial buildings; AB 1032 (Wolk) seasonally restricting and temporarily closing certain salmon spawning and wild trout streams in the state to instream motorized suction dredge gold mining for a period of up to three years, or until the Department of Fish and Game completes a court-ordered environmental review and updates the department's existing suction dredge regulations, whichever occurs first; AB 1058 (Laird) requiring the Department of Housing and Community Development and ultimately the Building Standards Commission to adopt best practices and building standards related to green building; and AB 1477 (Soto) establishing continuing education requirements for licensed trappers, requiring that non-target animals ensnared in traps be immediately released or, if injured, taken to shelter or veterinarian, requiring reasonable efforts to notify owners of domestic animals, such as dogs or cats, injured or killed in a trap, and requiring the Department of Fish and Game to approve a form trappers would be required to provide to clients informing them of non-lethal options for animal control and other department information.
At the time of this writing, the Governor, through the Office of the Attorney General, has filed a lawsuit against the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) for failing to act on California's tailpipe emission waivers requirement.
Under the Federal Clean Air Act, California has the right to set up its own tougher-than-federal vehicle emission standards as long as it obtains a waiver from the U.S. EPA. Over the past 30 years, the U.S. EPA has granted California more than 40 such waivers, denying none. The original request for a waiver of federal preemption of California's Motor Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards was made by the Air Resources Board on December 21, 2005. The waiver, allowing California to enact and enforce standards to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles, was requested after the Board developed regulations based on a 2002 California law (AB 1493-Pavley). That law required California to establish new standards for motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions beginning in model year 2009. The Board-adopted regulations will phase in and ramp up over eight years to cut global warming from new vehicles by nearly 30% by model year 2016.
States that have adopted, or are in the process of adopting, California's strict automobile emissions standards are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington. Many of these states indicate they would join the lawsuit.
In July 2007, the Governor signed an Executive Order establishing a low carbon fuel standard for transportation fuels sold in California. This standard is part of the effort, along with AB 32, to meet emission targets by 2020.
The Governor's Executive Order directs the Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency to coordinate the actions of the California Energy Commission, the University of California and other agencies to develop a draft compliance schedule to meet the 2020 goals for carbon intensity reductions in transportation fuels. This analysis will become part of the State Implementation Plan for alternative fuels as required by AB 1007 (Pavley), Chapter 371, Statutes of 2005. It is estimated that the regulating process at the Air Resources Board to implement a new standard will be done no later than December, 2008.