Ship & Shore Environmental Recommends Consulting the ARB

ARB’s Office of Legislative Affairs serves as the principal resource on legislative issues relative to air quality and climate change for CalEPA and the Governor’s Office. ARB’s Office of Legislative Affairs provides technical expertise and policy advice relating to pending legislation and serves as a resource to the Legislature and legislative staff.

The report linked here contains brief descriptions of the most pertinent legislation the Office of Legislative Affairs tracked during the second year of the 2015-2016 Legislative Session. The bills included in this summary are indexed in several ways – by subject, by author, and by bill number. Year-end status is noted as Chaptered, Vetoed, Dead, 2-Year, or N/A, where 2-Year refers to Extraordinary Session bills and N/A refers to bills that initially related to air quality or climate but were subsequently amended to remove provisions of interest to ARB.

In 2016, the Legislature considered more than 3800 bills. ARB’s Office of Legislative Affairs tracked 573 bills, including 89 that were carried over from last year, and analyzed about 100 bills that were introduced this year. Ninety of the bills tracked and having implications for air quality, climate, or government operations were signed into law (chaptered), while 11 were vetoed. A listing of all tracked bills that were chaptered or vetoed may be found on pages 113 and 127, respectively.

A number of bills that were signed into law in 2016 had specific requirements for ARB. A summary of the major mandates can be found in the “Legislative Mandates” section, which begins on page 143.