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Environmental Policy Work Archive

This section contains all of the Foundation's historical environmental policy work since its founding through the 2004-2005 legislative session and includes our support or opposition to California statewide ballot measures. You can also view our current environmental legislative activities as well as work completed over the past year.

2004-05 Legislative Session

CA Senate Bill 999 – SJV Air Pollution Control District Board Membership
The Kirsch Foundation actively supported SB 999, authored by State Senator Mike Machado, which would have expanded the membership of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) Board of Directors from 11 to 15 members in order to include additional representation from urban areas and members of the public. The bill passed through numerous policy committees and the full Senate, but wasn’t heard on the Assembly floor.


CA Senate Bill 44 – General Plans and Air Quality
The Kirsch Foundation supported SB 44, authored by State Senator Christine Kehoe, which would have required each city and county to either adopt an air quality amendment to its general plan or amend the appropriate elements of its general plan to include goals, policies and implementation strategies for improving air quality. SB 44 passed through a variety of committees and the full Senate, but failed passage on the Assembly floor.


CA Senate Bill 109 – Air Pollution Violations
The Kirsch Foundation supported SB 109, authored by State Senator Deborah Ortiz, which would have provided more flexibility in prosecution of air quality violations by allowing the option of pursuing both civil and criminal penalties against violators. SB 109 passed through a variety of committees and the full Senate, but never got off of the Assembly floor.


CA Senate Bill 455 – Pest control: violations
We supported SB 455, authored by State Senator Martha Escutia, which mandated the enforcement of existing pesticide safety regulations by the Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR). Despite passing through both the Assembly and Senate, SB 455 was vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in October 2005.


CA Senate Bill 467 – Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program
The Kirsch Foundation supported SB 467, authored by State Senator Alan Lowenthal, which will expedite, through an “early retirement” incentive program, the introduction of clean, low-emitting engine technologies for older, high-polluting non-road industrial vehicles and equipment. After passing through both the Assembly and Senate, SB 467 was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in October 2005.


CA Senate Bill 497 – Cleaner Construction
The Kirsch Foundation supported SB 497, authored by State Senator Joe Simitian, which would have reduced health-threatening air pollution from state-funded construction sites. SB 497 passed through the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, but never got out of the Senate.


CA Senate Bill 757 – Petroleum Dependency
The Kirsch Foundation supported SB 757, authored by State Senator Christine Kehoe, which would have required state agencies to reduce the growth of petroleum demand, increase vehicle energy efficiency, and increase the use of alternative fuels. SB 757 passed through a variety of Senate committees and then the full Senate. The Assembly Transportation Committee passed SB 757, but it wasn’t considered by the full Assembly.

CA Assembly Bill 405 – Pesticides in Schools
The Kirsch Foundation supported AB 405, authored by Assemblymember Cindy Montañez, which prohibits the use of experimental (non-registered or conditionally registered) pesticides in schools. After passing through both the Assembly and Senate, AB 405 was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in October 2005.


CA Assembly Bill 386 – Air Pollution Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance
The Kirsch Foundation supported AB 386, authored by Assemblymember Sally Lieber, which would have increased the authority of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) over the motor vehicle inspection and maintenance (Smog Check) program by shifting major responsibilities for the program from the Department of Consumer Affairs and the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) to CARB. AB 386 passed through a variety of Assembly committees and the full Assembly, but wasn’t voted out of the Senate.


CA Assembly Bill 841 – Air quality: particulate monitoring
The Kirsch Foundation supported AB 841, authored by State Assemblymember Juan Arambula, which requires the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) to establish a network of air monitoring sites (1-3 monitors) on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley. After passing through both the Assembly and Senate, AB 841 was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in October 2005.


CA Assembly Bill 1229 – Global Warming Labels
The Kirsch Foundation supported AB 1229, authored by Assemblymember Joe Nation, which revises and re-creates an air pollution sticker that will include a global warming labeling requirement for new cars sold in California. After passing through both the Assembly and Senate, AB 1229 was signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in October 2005.

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2003-04 Legislative Session

CA Senate Bill 656
The Kirsch Foundation supported SB 656 authored by Senator Byron Sher. This legislation granted the California Air Resources Board (CARB) the power to adopt more stringent regulations in regard to particulate matter (PM) air pollution in California. After successfully passing the Senate and Assembly, SB 656 was signed by Governor Gray Davis on October 8, 2003.


CA Senate Bill 700
The Kirsch Foundation supported SB 700 authored by Senator Dean Florez. This legislation removed an air pollution exemption granted to agriculture that had been deemed illegal under the federal Clean Air Act. SB 700 passed the Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Davis on September 22, 2003.


CA Senate Bill 709
The Kirsch Foundation supported SB 709 authored by Senator Dean Florez. This legislation granted further regulatory powers to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District modeled after the South Coast Air Quality Management District. SB 709 passed through both houses of the Legislature and was signed into law by Governor Davis on September 22, 2003.


CA Assembly Bill 844
The Kirsch Foundation supported AB 844 authored by Assemblymember Joe Nation. This legislation ensures that replacement tires be at least as fuel efficient as original equipment tires sold with new vehicles. Governor Davis signed AB 844 on October 1, 2003, after both houses of the California Legislature approved it.


CA Assembly Bill 1500
The Kirsch Foundation supported AB 1500 authored by Assemblymember Manny Diaz. This legislation would have, through a $1 fee on each barrel of oil refined in California, provided $750 million annually for cleaner diesel engines, Brownfields remediation, refinery cleanup and pollution-reducing transportation options. AB 1500 successfully passed the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials committee then failed passage in the Assembly Transportation committee.

2001-02 Legislative Session

CA Senate Bill 1078
The Kirsch Foundation supported SB 1078, authored by State Senator Byron Sher. SB 1078 required that California move to 20% renewable energy sources by 2017 using a system of tradable credits called a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). After a major advocacy campaign and several legislative roadblocks, Governor Davis signed SB 1078 into law September 12, 2002.


CA Senate Bill 1994 and CA Assembly Bill 2682
The Kirsch Foundation supported identical bills – SB 1994 and AB 2682 – co-authored by Senator Nell Soto (D-Ontario) and Assemblymember Judy Chu (D-49th District). This legislation would have created $200 million in state programs fighting petroleum-related pollution of air and water. SB 1994 progressed through the Senate, yet ultimately died in the Senate Appropriations committee. Similarly, AB 2682 failed passage in Assembly Appropriations.


CA Assembly Bill 1314
The Kirsch Foundation supported AB 1314, authored by Assemblymember Sally Havice. This bill – which provided enforcement for parking spaces designated for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) – passed through both houses of the Legislature and was signed by the Governor on September 17, 2002.


CA Assembly Bill 1493
The Kirsch Foundation actively supported AB 1493, landmark legislation authored by Assemblymember Fran Pavley. After over a year of advocacy and effort by environmental organizations, business leaders and elected officials, Assembly Bill 1493 became law on Monday, July 22, 2002, with California Governor Gray Davis's signature. This bill instructed the California Air Resources Board to develop and adopt regulations, by January 1, 2005, that achieved the maximum feasible reduction of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emitted by passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks in California.


CA Assembly Bill 2461
The Kirsch Foundation supported AB 2461, authored by Assemblymember Fred Keeley and sponsored by the California Electric Transportation Coalition. AB 2461 unanimously passed both the Assembly and Senate, and Governor Gray Davis signed the bill into law September 14, 2002. This bill renews an expiring California law to keep vehicle license fees for clean, alternative-fuel vehicles competitive with those of traditional vehicles.


CA Assembly Bill 2774
The Foundation supported AB 2774, authored by State Assemblymember Fran Pavley, which would have required the development of a public education campaign encouraging the purchase of advanced technology vehicles. While the bill passed through both houses of the Legislature, Governor Davis vetoed the bill on September 27, 2002, citing cost concerns.


CA Assembly Concurrent Resolution 213
The Kirsch Foundation supported ACR 213, authored by Assemblymember Carole Migden, which encouraged the Golden Gate Bridge to allow toll-free crossing for zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs). ACR 213 successfully passed both houses of the California legislature. The resolution expressed the intent of the Legislature, and therefore did not require gubernatorial action.

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2000-01 Legislative Session

CA Assembly Bill 1390
The Kirsch Foundation supported AB 1390, authored by Assemblymember Marco Firebaugh. After being passed by both houses of the Legislature, Governor Davis signed AB 1390 into law on October 13, 2001. The bill requires that at least 50 percent of specified air pollution reduction funds be allocated to communities disproportionately affected by air contaminants, including low-income communities and communities of color.


CA Assembly Bill 621
The Foundation supported AB 621, authored by Assemblymember Ellen Corbett and sponsored by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. AB 621 passed through the Assembly and Senate, and the Governor then signed it on October 14, 2001. The bill prohibited the California Independent System Operator (ISO) or an investor-owned utility (IOU) from entering into interruptible service contracts with electrical customers unless it has verified that those customers are in compliance with local air regulations.

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California's Statewide Ballot Measures

Proposition 87
The Kirsch Foundation supported Proposition 87 on the November 2006 ballot, which was a $4 billion effort to reduce California's dependence on gasoline and diesel by 25% over the next 10 years. The measure failed on a 45.3% (Yes) to 54.7% (No) vote. The program would have been funded by a modest and temporary fee on the extraction of oil in California, paid for by oil companies that drill in California. Prop. 87 would have created and funded incentives to replace gas and diesel powered vehicles with cars, trucks and buses that run on clean, affordable, alternative fuels like ethanol and electricity.


Proposition 90
We opposed Proposition 90 on the November 2006 ballot. Proponents claimed that Prop 90 was about eminent domain, but hidden in the fine print of the initiative were unrelated and far-reaching provisions that would have cost taxpayers billions of dollars each year and caused frivolous and time-consuming lawsuits. The initiative failed on a 47.5% (Yes) to 52.5% (No) vote. The measure would have required billions of dollars in new payouts any time a law or regulation was passed to protect our neighborhoods, control development, protect air environmental quality, restrict undesirable businesses or enact new consumer protection laws. That’s because the measure contained a hidden provision that would have allowed virtually anyone to claim that a new law or regulation had impacted the value of their property or business – no matter how far-fetched the claim – and taxpayers would have been on the hook to pay the bill.


Proposition 40
In California's March 2002 election, the Kirsch Foundation supported Proposition 40, with a $20,000 contribution. The measure passed with 58% of the votes cast. By creating incentives for clean air, Proposition 40's provisions to improve the environment strongly reflected the Foundation's policy objectives. The bond act provided $50 million to the California Air Resources Board for grants to air districts to purchase very low- or zero-emission vehicles, emission-reducing retrofit of vehicles, emission-reducing add-on equipment, and for the development and demonstration of low-emission technologies.


Proposition 37
Proposition 37, the pro-polluter ballot measure, went down to defeat on November 7, 2000, with 52.2 percent of residents voting against the initiative and 47.8 percent voting for it. We made a $20,000 contribution to Taxpayers Against Polluter Protection, the coalition that worked to defeat the measure. Proposition 37 was a proposed Constitutional Amendment that would have prohibited California from levying fees to clean up or mitigate environmental pollution without a two-thirds vote of the State Legislature. If the proposition had passed, it would have been much more difficult for the Legislature and local communities to make large corporations pay the costs of cleaning up pollution that the companies created.

California's ZEV Program

Zero-Emission Vehicle Program
From sponsoring successful carpool lane incentive legislation to participating in the biennial review process, we have worked on every aspect of implementing California's innovative zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) program. The ZEV program requires automakers to bring pollution-free vehicles to the mass market. Since the ZEV rules were established in the mid-1990s, thousands of clean vehicles have been placed, and operate on a daily basis, in California. The technology that automakers developed to satisfy the ZEV requirements has enabled numerous automotive breakthroughs such as the gasoline-electric hybrid and hydrogen-powered vehicles. Go to the California Air Resources Board (CARB) web site for updated information on the state’s ZEV program.

ZEV Incentive Legislation
Over 90 percent of all Californians live in areas that do not meet Federal or State standards for healthy air. More importantly, 75 percent of California's pollution comes from mobile sources, primarily cars and trucks. We remain committed to creating incentives for people to lease zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) since they produce less than one percent of the air pollution of most gas vehicles. ZEVs remain the cleanest automotive standard available in the marketplace today. In 1999, 2000 and 2001, the Kirsch Foundation played a critical role in the passage of ZEV incentive legislation at the state and local levels:

• City of San Jose – We supported the City of San Jose’s establishment of free ZEV parking at city facilities.
  
• CA Assembly Bill 2061 – This grant program, which intended to bring ZEVs to price partiy with comparable gas models, was signed into law by Governor Gray Davis in September 2000. It is no longer an active program.
  
• CA Assembly Bill 71 – We made it a priority in 1999 to get a law passed that would allow carpool lane access for single-occupant ZEVs. In September 1999, Governor Davis signed AB 71 into law – the bill was co-authored by Assemblymembers Jim Cunneen and Bob Margett. The law is in effect from July 1, 2000, to December 31, 2007. The Foundation was responsible for the final decal that is currently displayed on ZEVs and that same decal was altered in color for placement on gas-hybrid vehicles.