2012 legislative summary.

The Air District had two primary legislative goals for 2012, and both were achieved: we had no budgetary cuts from the State, and the transit commute benefits requirement sponsored by the Air District and authored by Senator Leland Yee, SB 1339, was passed and signed into law.

SB 1339 is similar to the previous year’s SB 582, vetoed by the Governor. It tasks the Air District and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission with jointly adopting a commute benefit requirement for Bay Area businesses and agencies with 50 or more employees. Affected employers will choose one of several benefits to offer their employees, such as the option of paying for transit or vanpooling with pre-tax dollars.

SB 1339 will help the region achieve greenhouse gas emissions reductions mandated by SB 375.

The Air District opposed 10 measures introduced in 2012 to curb air quality regulations and programs, with proponents claiming that these would protect businesses in a tough economy. None of these bills passed out of the Legislature.

Along with SB 1339, two additional measures supported by the Air District were passed by the Legislature and signed into law by the Governor.

• AB 1532 (Perez), which creates the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Fund for revenues from auction of GHG allowances.
• AB 535 (DeLeon), which directs funds in the Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Fund to disadvantaged communities.

The Air District also supported SB 1455, which would have reauthorized Carl Moyer, AB 118, and AB 923 air quality incentive and funding programs, and made changes to the California Air Resources Board’s Clean Fuel Outlet regulation. The programs affected provide roughly $24 million annually to the Bay Area for emission reduction projects. To pass, SB 1455 required a two-thirds vote of both the Assembly and the Senate. It passed the Assembly, but failed passage of the Senate at midnight of the last session, falling two votes shy of the required supermajority.