SB 32 / AB 197 Update

Members-

Thank you for your continued support of our advocacy efforts in Sacramento. Over the past couple of days there has been a lot of movement in Sacramento on high priority legislation, and CTA has been actively working on defending the interests of the industry. You may have seen multiple media reports on the passage of SB 32, California's attempt at setting new emissions limits until 2030. Below is some inside information on what transpired and how fully engaged CTA was throughout the process:

SB 32 has been the biggest environmental priority for Governor Brown over the past 2 years. Last year, CTA joined in a coalition effort to hold the bill into this year. This year, the bill on its own merits was met with intense opposition from Moderate Democrats and Republicans for its lack of oversight on ARB's activities. Knowing that the bill could not pass without some oversight component, the Governor and Senate Leadership agreed with the Assembly formulating a separate measure, AB 197, that could contain multiple oversight provisions. An agreement was reached to double-join the bills, which stipulated that neither SB 32 or AB 197 could be enacted into law unless both measures passed.

Our industry continues to spend $1 billion annually on new equipment to comply with current ARB's regulations. With SB 32's passage, ARB now has the authority to place new regulations on the industry until 2030 which could force the early retirement of equipment. Knowing this, CTA worked tirelessly to secure an amendment to both bills that would have provided a "minimum useful life standard" for equipment that would help protect stranded assets in the trucking industry caused by burdensome state and local regulations, including AQMD's Facility Cap Measure.

Thanks to recent visits by members of the San Bernardino/Riverside Unit, Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona) helped champion our amendment push. Unfortunately, leadership in the Senate declined to take any amendments to the bill and ultimately both bills passed without our amendment. However, Assemblymember Rodriguez has secured a commitment from Speaker Anthony Rendon and AB 197 author Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) to work with our industry to protect our assets. Assemblymember Rodriguez has also helped us secure a meeting with the Brown Administration to discuss how we can protect our investments and prevent stranded assets through statute. That meeting will take place today in the Governor's office, and staff will update members on our progress.

Thank you,

 

RJ