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Assembly votes against additions to valley's air board
| Tuesday, Aug 29 2006 10:10 PM
Last Updated: Tuesday, Aug 29 2006 10:14 PM
SACRAMENTO -- Legislation sought by environmental, health and farmworker advocates to shake up the San Joaquin Valley's air board was rejected by the Assembly Tuesday evening.
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But it was given a chance for another vote before the Legislature's scheduled adjournment Thursday.
In a fierce lobbying battle that pitted Kern's two Democratic lawmakers against each other, the bill to give Bakersfield and other cities more clout and put medical professionals on the board fell 9 votes short of the 41 it needed for passage.
The 11-member San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District board, dominated by representatives from county boards of supervisors, has long been criticized as too close to the agriculture and oil industries to crack down on two of the region's biggest sources of pollution.
The air board and its supporters insist the criticism is unfounded, saying it has made significant progress in reducing pollution in recent years.
The bill, SB 999 by Sen. Mike Machado, D-Stockton, would increase the air board's membership from 11 to 15. Three cities -- Bakersfield, Fresno and Stockton -- would get permanent seats. Cities now have two seats with rotating membership. A physician and an air pollution expert would also be added.
Assemblywoman Nicole Parra, D-Hanford, opposed the bill.
"The board is doing a great job," Parra said. "I feel that if folks want to be part of changing the way it performs, they should run for office."
State Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, helped Machado and other supporters lobby for the measure.
Florez said the current air board has "watered down" historic legislation he authored three years ago to require dairies and farms to comply with clean-air rules for the first time.
Kern's Republican Assembly members, Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield and Bill Maze of Visalia voted against the measure.
If passed by the Assembly, the measure must return to the Senate for a final vote, where it has passed once, before going to the governor.