Bill May Take Away AQMD’s Breathing Room : Government: Legislature is heading toward approving a measure that would give it control over agency’s $1.7-million budget. Proponents of district say the law would hamstring air quality enforcement.

A bill that would give the state Legislature control over the South Coast Air Quality Management District’s $107-million budget--a move that some say will hogtie the agency but others say will give it much-needed oversight--has been approved by the Assembly and appears headed for victory in the Senate.

The bill by Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) is one of 58 introduced this legislative session in a bipartisan onslaught to rein in the troubled AQMD, which is facing shrinking revenues and a fierce battle to get its new pollution trading market off the ground.

Critics contend the agency wields too much power and does not reduce pollution enough for its efforts. Proponents of the agency say the Polanco bill and others would gut a necessary environmental protection force.

“Reining in one of the few effective regional environmental agencies is clearly a step in the wrong direction,” said Veronica Kun, staff scientist for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “What needs to be done is to enhance the ability of the air district to do its job rather than placing it at the mercy of more politicized forces.”

The Polanco bill, which was approved Monday by a comfortable 49-24 margin, would give legislative oversight to the district in three ways. First, it would require that the AQMD’s revenues--a proposed $107 million for the fiscal year beginning this July--be placed in a special fund. Second, for the district to gain access to that money, the Legislature would have to appropriate the funds by voting on the district’s budget.

Finally, every time the district wants to increase any revenue source, such as a permit fee for businesses, it would have to get Legislative approval.

“I argue that’s insane,” said Assemblyman Sam Farr (D-Carmel), who voted against the bill. “You’re just going to make the Legislature the AQMD for Southern California.”

But David Peters, a legislative aide to Polanco, said the Legislature would not get tied up with the minutia of the district’s operation. He added that the AQMD has grown so explosively that it needs some outside direction.

“Our perspective from this office is we’re not complaining about how much money the district spends,” Peters said. “The issue is this: How are they spending their money? If they had some outside oversight it’s possible that some of their budget could be spent more effectively.”

A spokesman for the AQMD, which regulates air quality in Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties, said he was not surprised the bill has gotten this far and believes that it could pass in the Senate with some amendment.

“There’s a sense up there--that we think is mistaken--that the district should have some tighter oversight,” said Bill Kelly, a district spokesman. “What we’re looking at now on the Senate side is the possibility that it will be amended so the Legislature would have the capability to oversee the development of our budget and give input.”

In related actions Monday, the state Senate passed three business-backed bills to limit the powers of air pollution control districts statewide.

A measure by state Sen. John Lewis (R-Orange), which was unanimously approved, would limit fee increases imposed by the AQMD to growth in the consumer price index. Another would prohibit air districts from requiring companies with 100 or fewer employees to create plans to reduce job-related vehicle use.

A third measure would prevent air districts in the San Francisco Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley from imposing rules or standards before July, 1997, that would require businesses to make capital expenditures to control nitrogen oxide emissions.