Senate OKs Broad New Powers for Smog Board : Legislation Sent to Governor Would Revamp Panel, Give It Right to Control Trucks, Cars

Legislation that would overhaul the membership of the South Coast Air Quality Management District board and give it broad new powers to curb air pollution in the Los Angeles Basin was passed Friday by the Senate and sent to Gov. George Deukmejian.

To cope with the region’s chronic smog problem, a newly constituted board would gain the authority to prohibit trucks from using the freeways during the hours of the day when air quality reaches its worst levels. Such a system was successfully introduced during the 1984 Summer Olympics and led to a reduction in smog levels, supporters of the bill said.

Under the measure, by Sen. Robert Presley (D-Riverside), the district would also take on the power to require that businesses provide incentives to their employees to commute to work in buses and car pools. Such incentives could include establishing preferential parking for car pools, giving out free bus passes or paying cash bonuses to workers who share rides.

Wide-Ranging Influence

Granting the district authority over new development, the agency would also have influence over the design of transportation systems and parking for such projects as shopping centers, commercial parks and large housing developments. To reduce smog from auto congestion, the board could require developers to include bus service, bicycle paths or preferential parking for car pool vehicles.

And the board would take on the power to order businesses that have fleets of cars or trucks to switch to methanol or other fuels that create less air pollution.

“I think we’re going to see a vast improvement in the operations of that board toward their objective of reducing air pollution in the South Coast Basin,” Presley said after the vote. “The idea is to get a vigorous board that would be aggressive about cleaning up the air.”

Presley said he was optimistic that Deukmejian would sign the bill, approved by the Senate 36 to 0, despite the opposition of major business interests. The governor has taken no position on the measure, a spokesman said.

Presley’s bill is the first significant anti-smog bill to win the approval of the Legislature this year--despite the fact that California faces the threat of federal sanctions, including a building moratorium and a cut-off of highway funds, if the state does not show an improvement in air quality.

Other major bills designed to reduce air pollution in California, including one that would have required car makers to equip vehicles with methanol-burning engines, have been bottled up by the opposition of oil companies and other affected industries.

‘Dramatic Steps’

“This is the year that California was supposed to be in compliance with the federal Clean Air Act and we’re way out of compliance in a number of areas, including Los Angeles,” said Assemblyman Byron Sher (D-Palo Alto), the author of one anti-smog bill that has been shelved until next year. “We’re not going to be able to avoid (federal) sanctions unless we take some fairly dramatic steps.”

The Presley bill was prompted by concern that the South Coast Air Quality Management Board had not properly carried out its responsibility to reduce smog in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

“There was virtually no accountability for some of the members of the air board,” said Mark Abramowitz, program director of the Coalition for Clean Air and a supporter of the bill. “There was a clear record that they weren’t doing all that was feasible to clean up the air in Los Angeles.”

Board Called ‘Lethargic’

Presley, who termed the air quality board “lethargic,” said he sought to shake up the board’s membership, make its members more accountable to the public and clearly spell out their responsibilities.

Under the bill, at least three members of the air quality board would lose their seats, with the panel shrinking from 14 to 11 members. The governor, the Legislature and cities and counties in the South Coast district would be required to make new appointments to the board, although any of the current members could be reappointed.

Starting next year, Presley’s bill would require members of the board to attend the agency’s meetings--a marked departure from the past when some members sent substitutes to act in their places.

The bill would also require board members and key employees to abide by the same conflict-of-interest requirements as state officials. They would have to disclose their personal holdings and refrain from voting on matters in which they have an interest.

Other Restrictions

In addition, the bill would prohibit former board members and top-level employees from entering into contracts with the agency or representing businesses before the board for up to five years after severing ties with the air quality district.

The need for such provisions, Presley said, was “highlighted” by the case of the board’s former executive officer, Jeb Stuart, who left his job and went to work as a consultant for Garboil, a firm that won the agency’s permission to build a controversial waste-to-energy plant.

Ron Ketcham, a spokesman for the air quality district, said the agency applauded the passage of the measure because of the new authority granted to the district. Board members have taken no position on the plan to reorganize the board, he said.

‘Welcome Those Changes’

“We’re pleased about the expanded powers and welcome those changes because they are going to allow us to move into other areas such as fuels, indirect source control and transportation policies,” he said. “It gives us a few more weapons in the fight against pollution.”

Among those opposing the legislation are the California Trucking Assn., the California Building Industry Assn., the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Manufacturers Assn., and Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties.

Earlier this week, the bill cleared the Assembly by a vote of 53 to 19, despite the fear of some Republicans that the agency would have too much power over industry and business.