Tea Party members swarmed the Assembly Natural Resources Committee April 25 to support legislation aimed at terminating the California Air Resources Board. While receiving some committee support, the bill, AB 1332, ultimately failed on a 6-3 vote. The Air Board is “literally a job killing machine,” said author Assemblymember Tim Donnelly (R-Hesperia). Assemblymember Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), who aligns herself with the Tea Party, also endorsed it. She said the cost of implementing California’s greenhouse gas reduction law is putting people out of business. Dubbed “The No CARB Diet,” the bill would have given the Air Board’s administrative duties to the California Environmental Protection Agency. It also had sought to require local air districts to have one person from each major industry affected by their regulations on their boards. A bill authored by Assemblymember David Valadao (R-Hanford) ends some state funding for corn-based ethanol. AB 523 passed out of committee on a 5-4 vote. It will be debated next in the Assembly Transportation Committee. Valadao supports increasing petroleum production in the Central Valley. His motto is, “Working to create jobs, reduce regulation, and rein in spending.” The Tea Party Patriots organization officially declares the same goals. On the other political side of the state’s greenhouse gas reduction effort is AB 638 by Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-Oakland). This legislation has the Air Board, as well as the California Energy Commission, working to expand alternative fuels. “Reliance on petroleum for transportation leaves businesses and consumers vulnerable to price spikes,” noted Skinner. “AB 638 lowers the barriers that are inhibiting our use of alternative transportation fuels, and creates a competitive market place of transportation fuel options. It will also incentivize investments and create new jobs in California companies.” The bill passed out of committee on a 6-3 vote and heads to the Assembly Utilities & Communications Committee. Turning slimy stuff into alternative fuel is the goal of Assembly Majority Leader Charles Calderon (D-City of Industry). His AB 642 allows the State Lands Commission to lease lands to grow algae for biofuels. It passed committee 8-0. It will be heard next in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. For a completely different take on transportation “fuel” for greenhouse gas reduction there’s AB 306 by Assemblymember Mike Gatto (D-Burbank). It attempts to have the California Energy Commission investigate using piezoelectric transducers implanted in roads to use the motion of vehicles to create energy. “I know this sounds a little sci-fi,” Gatto said, explaining that it works like sonar in reverse with vehicles imparting vibrations to materials in the roads themselves. He said such a road exists in Israel to generate electricity. The bill moved on a 6-1 vote. The Transportation Committee will take it up next. Also addressing greenhouse gases is AB 347 by Assemblymember Cathleen Galgani (D-Stockton). In setting up a cap-and-trade program in which the Air Board provides credits for industries that act early to reduce emissions, this aims to ensure that the cement, glass, soda ash, and steel sectors receive allowances. The vote was 9-0. It heads to the Appropriations Committee.
