AB836:v94#DOCUMENTBill Start
Assembly Bill
No. 836
CHAPTER 393
An act to add and repeal Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 39960) of Part 2 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to nonvehicular air pollution.
[
Approved by
Governor
October 02, 2019.
Filed with
Secretary of State
October 02, 2019.
]
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 836, Wicks.
Wildfire Smoke Clean Air Centers for Vulnerable Populations Incentive Pilot Program.
Existing law generally designates the State Air Resources Board as the state agency with the primary responsibility for the control of vehicular air pollution and air pollution control and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources.
This bill would establish until January 1, 2025, the Wildfire Smoke Clean Air Centers for Vulnerable Populations Incentive Pilot Program, to be administered by the state board, to provide funding through a grant program to retrofit ventilation systems to create a network of clean air centers in order to
mitigate the adverse public health impacts due to wildfires and other smoke events, as specified. The bill would specify that moneys for the program would be available upon appropriation, and that the implementation of these provisions is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.
Digest Key
Vote:
MAJORITY
Appropriation:
NO
Fiscal Committee:
YES
Local Program:
NO
Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 39960) is added to Part 2 of Division 26 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
CHAPTER
9.5 Wildfire Smoke Clean Air Centers for Vulnerable Populations Incentive Pilot Program
39960.
(a) (1) The Wildfire Smoke Clean Air Centers for Vulnerable Populations Incentive Pilot Program is hereby established to be administered by the state board to provide funding through a grant program to retrofit ventilation systems to create a network of clean air centers in order to mitigate the adverse public health impacts due to wildfires and other smoke events.(2) Moneys for the program shall be available upon appropriation by the Legislature.
(b) Qualified applicants shall include, but need
not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Schools.
(2) Community centers.
(3) Senior centers.
(4) Sports centers.
(5) Libraries.
(c) The state board shall develop guidelines and eligibility criteria for the program in consultation with districts, cities, counties, public health agencies, school districts, and other stakeholders. The guidelines and eligibility
criteria shall
consider all of the following:
(1) Identification of vulnerable populations, including, but not limited to, communities with diverse racial and ethnic populations and communities with low-income communities, as defined in Section 39713.
(2) Location of the applicant’s facility relative to local vulnerable populations.
(3) Capacity of the applicant’s facility.
(4) Facility ventilation characteristics that could provide healthier indoor air quality in the event of a localized smoke impact.
(d) (1) The state board shall prioritize applications to the program where the project is located in an area with
documented high cumulative smoke exposure burden.
(2) Within areas described in paragraph (1), the state board shall give priority to a school maintained by a local educational agency that has at least 40 percent of its pupils being from low-income families, as specified pursuant to Title I of the federal Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et seq.).
39961.
(a) Implementation of this chapter is contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose.(b) This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2025, and as of that date is repealed.