Let’s face it; while the intent of California’s global warming regulations was good, how it actually works is not.
We can continue to attempt to roadblock the implementation of California’s landmark greenhouse gas legislation, or we can figure out how to implement this policy with as little impact on Californians’ checkbooks as possible. It’s past time that all of us roll up our sleeves and figure out what fixes are needed to make it work right.
That’s the motivation behind my support for Senate Bill 11 and Assembly Bill 8. Businesses–small and large–in my district and throughout the state have made it very clear to me and other legislators that we need to allow new energy technologies to catch up with the law before enforcement begins. Otherwise, we risk crippling businesses that are the backbone of California’s economy.
With that in mind, a bi-partisan group of legislators and a diverse coalition of stakeholders have come together to support a legislative fix. SB 11 and AB 8 would provide regulatory relief and more economic certainty by:
- Capping current fees for the next seven years;
- Providing grants to farmers, truckers and others who will have to buy new tractors, machinery and other industrial vehicles to cut emissions;
- Phasing in regulations for the installation in service stations of hydrogen-based equipment and facilities that is not yet generally available;
- Creating more certainty for farmers, automakers and small business of all kinds;
- Preserving California’s tire recycling program for the next eight years; and
- Preparing the next generation for jobs in the new-fuel economy by funding workforce-training partnerships.
All this upside explains the massive show of support of over 122 organizations, including such unlikely bedfellows as the American Lung Association, the California Farm Bureau Federation, the California Trucking Association, the Environmental Defense Fund, the Western States Petroleum Association, the California Independent Oil Marketers Association, Waste Management and dozens of other groups.
These bills will keep in place existing fees that are due to sunset. While eliminating these fees maybe a preferable choice to some, it would be shortsighted and counterproductive to California’s real need for economic stability, job growth and moving the state forward as a whole. Furthermore, the businesses directly impacted by these fees have asked for the certainty that locking in existing fee rates provides.
SB 11 and AB 8 will cap fees and offer relief to a wide spectrum of businesses that want to do their part to clean California’s air but need some more time to spread out the costs of the investments they are required to make.
This bill package offers precisely the balanced, working solutions Californians want and rightly expect from their lawmakers. Is it perfect? Nothing ever is. Is it the right path forward for California?
Yes.