The 2015 Legislative Recap: Settling in and Taking a Breath

• Jurisdiction: California,United States
• Citation: Vol. 25 No. 1
• Publication year: 2016
• Author: by Gary Lucks

The 2015 Legislative Recap: Settling in and Taking a Breath*

by Gary Lucks^**

INTRODUCTION

During the 2015-2016 legislative session, Governor Brown signed 808 bills - down significantly from the 930 bills he signed the year before. Perhaps the decreased productivity stems from recent legislative term limit changes allowing members to serve up to a total of 12 years in either chamber. This expanded time frame allows legislators to settle into their legislative roles and take a longer view on policy without the burden of posturing for their next political office.

It may be that, with their new found longevity, they have more time to develop expertise which contributes to charting a more sustainable path on policy-making. As a result, these "12 year" members can focus on fewer, more substantive initiatives and take on larger scale reform efforts. The "top two" system has also yielded less polarized and moderate legislators, contributing to a calming effect in Sacramento.

Despite the relative dearth of new laws, the Legislature produced several pieces of noteworthy environmental, land use and natural resources legislation, as described below.

CLIMATE CHANGE

The Brown administration pioneered the Subnational Global Climate Leader Initiative (Under2MOU.org) which invites subnational cities and regions around the world to commit to achieving no more than a 2-degree Celsius global temperature increase. The signatories agree to reduce per capital emissions to below two metric tons of GHG in order to reduce GHG emissions by at least 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. The "Under 2 MOU" has over 127 signatories representing over 729 million people (27 countries and 6 continents) and $20.4 trillion in GDP, equivalent to more than a quarter of the global economy. The Senate weighed in as well with a package of clean energy and climate legislation establishing renewable energy, and energy efficiency.

SB 350 (De León) is the most noteworthy new law that enacts the "Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015." The Senate Pro Tem introduced SB 350 to implement three 50% targets: a 50% renewable portfolio standard (RPS), a 50% reduction in fossil fuel consumption, and to increase energy efficiency in buildings by 50% by 2030. The Senate Leader acceded to stiff opposition from the oil industry, moderate assembly members and Republicans and removed the petroleum reduction goal in the waning days of the 2015 legislative session. The same opposition coalition succeeded in blocking SB 32 (Pavley) which would have extended interim GHG emissions limits beyond 2020 - the date that the Global Warming Solutions Act (otherwise known as "AB 32") is set to expire.

The prior RPS target of 33% renewable energy by 2020 was expanded to 50% annually by 2030. Investor-owned utilities, Community choice aggregators (CCAs), energy service providers (ESPs), and publicly owned utilities (POUs) of eligible sources of renewable electricity must work towards accomplishing this more ambitious goal.

In order to achieve the 50% increase in building efficiency, this new law requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (otherwise known as the CEC) to essentially double the energy efficiency savings and reduce demand in natural gas and electricity consumption for existing residential and nonresidential buildings by January 1, 2030. Similarly, this new law requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to set energy efficiency targets for electrical and gas corporations and local POUs to accomplish the 50% energy efficiency goal.

AB 1496 (Thurmond) expands upon legislation from last year (SB 605 (Lara), Chapter 523, Statutes of 2014) that required the ARB to develop a strategy to control short-lived climate pollutants (SLCP). This new law requires the ARB to monitor high-emission hot spots of methane - a "short-lived" and potent GHG. The ARB must also consult with federal and state agencies to gather information to perform life-cycle analysis of GHG emissions from natural gas imports. ARB must also review scientific data addressing the chemical reactivity of methane in forming photochemical oxidants.

AIR QUALITY

AB 1288 (Atkins) responds to socioeconomic data showing people of color experience a 50% higher cancer risk from air pollution than the general population. This new law adds two new board members to the Air Resources Board (ARB) to represent the interests of environmental justice communities. The Senate Rules Committee and the Speaker of the Assembly are authorized to appoint a new member each increasing the total number of ARB members from 12 to 14.

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SOLID WASTE

AB 901 (Gordon) responds to a perceived lack of enforcement of disposal facility waste flow reporting (i.e., Disposal Reporting System (DRS). Late, incomplete, and inaccurate reports can contribute to fraud that results local jurisdictions and the state losing millions in revenues. For example, in 2015, employees of the Ox Mountain Landfill were accused of grand theft of nearly $1.4 million by misclassifying construction waste as green waste and fraudulently collecting tipping fees from landfill customers. Among other things, this new law requires operators of recycling, composting, and disposal facilities to submit data directly to CalReycle in lieu of the counties. Those who refuse or fail to submit waste information or who knowingly or willfully file false reports are subject to civil penalties.

According to The 5 Gyres Institute microplastic particles and microbeads pass through wastewater treatment systems and enter into California waters enroute to the North Pacific Central Gyre. These microplastics, which are added to personal care products as exfoliants and abrasives, absorb persistent organic pollutants, such as PCBs, DDT, and PBDEs. These chemicals bioaccumulate in aquatic organisms. AB 888 (Bloom) addresses this situation by prohibiting the sale and offer for promotional purposes of personal care products containing plastic microbeads beginning January 1, 2020. This law provides an exemption for products containing less than 1 part per million by weight of plastic microbeads. Violators are liable for a civil penalty up to $2,500 per day for each violation.

HAZARDOUS WASTE

The Legislature served up a smorgasbord of new policies reforming permitting and the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) enforcement of hazardous waste facilities, along with expanding management requirements for spent photovoltaic panels. The Legislature also authorized DTSC to regulate metal recycling facilities.

An external oversight panel evaluated operational reforms at DTSC and reviewed the agency's performance regarding cost recovery, cleanup and abatement, permitting, and community outreach. It discovered significant costs and delays associated with completing the permit process for hazardous waste facilities (otherwise known as hazardous waste treatment storage and disposal facilities or TSDFs). It also uncovered a perception that DTSC does not "deny or revoke permits as often as it should to address community concerns." In 2014, the DTSC responded with the Permitting Enhancement Work Plan (PEWP) "to improve the permitting program's ability to issue protective, timely, and enforceable permits using more transparent standards and consistent procedures...to develop a standardized process with decision criteria and corresponding standards of performance."

SB 673 (Lara) builds upon the PEWP and reforms the process governing hazardous waste permitting and public participation for new, modified, or reconstructed hazardous waste facilities. This new law establishes a bright line for DTSC to render TSDF permitting decisions. By January 1, 2018, DTSC must modify criteria for permitting hazardous waste facilities including completing a health risk assessment. In addition, DTSC must implement, by July 1, 2018, programmatic reforms governing hazardous waste permitting to enhance "protectiveness, timeliness, legal defensibility, and enforceability." Using specified tools and resources, DTSC must take into consideration vulnerable communities when making permit decisions and consider minimum facility setback distances from schools, hospitals, homes, and other sensitive receptors. SB 83 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) is a similar law that requires the Cal-EPA Secretary and the Secretary of the NRA to establish an independent review panel to recommend strategies to improve the effectiveness of DTSC permitting, enforcement, public outreach and fiscal management. This new law also establishes within DTSC an assistant director for environmental justice to serve as an ombudsman to support disadvantaged communities. SB 83 also removes duplication in prior law and specifies how the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) must externally review public health goals pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).

Prior to AB 1075 (Alejo) a "Class I" hazardous waste violation conflated immediate and direct threats to human health, safety, or the environment with less urgent threats. This new law modifies the DTSC categories of hazardous waste violations and distinguishes violations posing immediate and direct threats from relatively low- or long-term threats. This new penalty scheme is designed to provide DTSC a more objective standard to guide enforcement for repeat and serious hazardous waste facility violations. DTSC must deny, suspend, or revoke a permit, registration, or certificate for a hazardous waste facility that experiences three or more serious violations during a five-year period. This new law also authorizes DTSC to temporarily suspend a permit, registration, or certificate if it determines there is imminent and substantial endangerment to the public health or safety or the environment. Finally, persons found liable for or convicted of two or more previous violations of over 5 years are subject to an additional civil penalty of at least $5,000 and...