Environmental, Housing, and Transportation bills receive bipartisan support
(SACRAMENTO) – Four bills by Assemblyman Eduardo Garcia passed their first policy hurdle with bipartisan support in Assembly Natural Resources Committee. All bills now move to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 2415, California Clean Truck, Bus, and Off-Road Vehicle and Equipment Technology Program, “Over 80% of our polluting emissions come from mobile sources and trucks operating in the goods movement sector are among the largest contributors. Poor air quality creates a cost to everyone, and all too frequently, it is the most vulnerable who are at risk, cutting along economic, ethnic and racial divides. AB 2415 ensures the state is prioritizing the deployment of cleaner engine technology in the heavy-duty truck market that will help reduce air pollution and GHG emissions while at the same time accelerating the retirement of older, high-polluting trucks.”
AB 2653, Climate Change Report Card, passed the Assembly Natural Resources Committee with a 9-0 bipartisan vote. This bill updates the Climate Change Report Card to require state agencies that expend Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds (GGRF) funds to report on: (1) the number of jobs created using GGRF moneys, including wage levels and education requirements; (2) actions taken to connect residents of disadvantaged communities and other targeted populations with business, employment, and training opportunities funded in whole or in part with GGRF moneys; (3) The number of business entities assisted with GGRF moneys, including the location, industry sector, and size; (4) the amount of other public or private funds leveraged when businesses were assisted with GGRF moneys.
AB 2715, Agricultural Working Poor Energy Efficient Housing Program, AB 2715 would require the Department of Community Services and Development to develop and administer, the Agricultural Working Poor Energy Efficient Housing Program. This will ensure that the farm worker housing is eligible for replacement of energy inefficient appliances with Energy Star certified appliances, installation of photovoltaic solar panels, solar water heating systems and weather.
“California’s farmworkers are the backbone of a $46 billion agricultural industry that provides fresh fruit and vegetables to Californians and the entire world,” said Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia. “California’s 800,000 low-income farmworkers cannot afford to reduce their reliance on carbon based energy without additional resources and assistance. AB 2715 will develop the Agricultural Working Poor Energy Efficient Housing Program which will assist farmworkers retrofit their homes and be more energy efficient,”
AB 2781, Supplemental Environmental Projects, passed the Assembly Natural Resources Committee on a 9-0 bipartisan vote. AB 2781 directs 10% of all penalties collected by California Environmental Protection Agency boards, departments, and offices to fund environmental projects in disadvantaged communities.
“Many communities in California continue to be disproportionately burdened my multiple sources of pollution,” said Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia. “These disadvantaged communities, like the Coachella and Imperial Valleys, require more resources to tackle climate and environmental health impacts. AB 2781 will help insure that funding for mitigation projects are directed to the areas of the state that need them the most.”
To read the bill language, please visit www.leginfo.ca.gov.
Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia (D-Coachella) serves as the as the chairperson of the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economic Development and the Economy. He represents the 56th district, which comprises the cities and communities of Blythe, Brawley, Bermuda Dunes, Calexico, Calipatria, Cathedral City, Coachella, Desert Hot Springs, El Centro, Holtville, Imperial, Indio, Mecca, Oasis, North Shore, Salton Sea, Thermal, Thousand Palms, and Westmorland
