LA COUNTY BUSINESS FEDERATION OPPOSES SENATE BILL 1387

LA COUNTY BUSINESS FEDERATION OPPOSES SENATE BILL 1387 
LOS ANGELES, CA – At its monthly meeting today, the Board of Directors of BizFed, the Los Angeles County Business Federation, voted unanimously to oppose Senate Bill 1387, legislation sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin DeLeon that would undermine local control of air quality regulations.  Following the vote, BizFed issued the following statement:

BizFed has been deeply involved in the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s rulemaking process over the years, working to ensure both environmental quality and job creation.  Our opposition to SB 1387 is informed by this historical experience and by our extensive, direct participation in the three-year process that resulted in the December vote on NOx RECLAIM that was described by SCAQMD as the “largest emission reduction in the history” of this program.The SCAQMD Governing Board is largely comprised of officials elected from the communities it represents, working under its own authority and accountable to the 17 million Southern Californians in its jurisdiction.  Unfortunately, SB 1387 would stack the SCAQMD Governing Board with hand-picked political appointees, chosen only by officials in Sacramento, and representing a single constituency.  This would completely undermine the tradition of ensuring communities affected by these rules have the primary say in making them.

This kind of legislation targeting an independent regional board sends a chilling message to the public.  Why even bother to have local or regional boards?  Why bother to invite and receive public testimony?  Why bother to have stakeholder involvement in the rule making process if Sacramento politicians can simply undo that process through this kind of legislation?

This legislation does nothing but undermine and politicize the rulemaking process at a time when local, regional, and state officials should be working together to ensure a both clean air and a strong economy for all of California’s families.

BizFed is a massive, diverse grassroots alliance of 155 top business groups representing 275,000 employers with 3 million employees throughout Southern California.

Click here to download a copy of BizFed’s official letter of opposition to SB 1387.