Existing law authorizes the State Air Resources Board (state board) to adopt and implement motor vehicle fuel specifications for the control of air contaminants and sources of air pollution. Existing law requires the state board to establish, by regulation, maximum standards for the volatility of gasoline, as provided. Pursuant to these authorizations, the state board has adopted the California Reformulated Gasoline regulations establishing California-specific gasoline specifications for various regions of the state at specified time periods.
This bill would require the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission) , in conjunction with the state board, to conduct outreach to the western states to explore the development of a gasoline specification that could be used in a western region, including California, as an alternative to the California-specific specification established by the state board regulations to stabilize the petroleum market and petroleum prices in the western region. The bill would require the commission, by July 1, 2026, to report to the Governor and the Legislature on alternative specifications for gasoline and an assessment of the costs and benefits of each alternative specification included in the report, as provided. The bill would require the state board, on or before January 1, 2027, to adopt and enforce amendments to the state board's regulations on gasoline specifications to transition to those alternative specifications recommended in the report.
This bill would further require that any regulation adopted by the state board or the Energy Commission that affects retail transportation fuel prices be subject to a standardized regulatory impact analysis. The bill would require the Department of Finance and the Legislative Analyst's Office to review the analysis and submit to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee an independent assessment of its accuracy.
This bill would also require, upon the request of a refinery or refiner, the commission to establish a "one stop shop" process for the coordinated and concurrent issuance of applicable air quality, water quality, and hazardous waste permits, approvals, or authorizations. The bill would authorize the commission to charge and collect a reasonable fee from a refinery or refiner for the direct costs of a one stop shop permit to recover the reasonable costs incurred in carrying out the requirements of the process.
Existing law establishes the state board as the state agency with primary jurisdiction over the regulation of vehicular air pollution. Existing law generally designates air pollution control districts and air quality management districts with the primary responsibility for the control of air pollution from all sources other than vehicular sources. Existing law subjects violators of specified air pollution laws or any rule, regulation, permit, or order of a district or of the state board to specified civil penalties.
This bill would require, for a civil penalty imposed by the state board pursuant to the laws imposing those penalties, 12 of the amount of the penalty to be allocated directly to the applicable air pollution control district or air quality management district for community investment and improvement within the community in which the violation occurred, and 12 of the amount of the penalty to be allocated for the purposes of investing in refinery worker safety, assistance, and support.
Existing regulations also prohibit a person from selling, offering for sale, supplying, offering for supply, or transporting California gasoline that exceeds the applicable cap limit for Reid vapor pressure within each of specified air basins during various defined regulatory periods throughout the year.
This bill would suspend those regulations during the period of June 1, 2025, to October 31, 2030, inclusive. The bill would require the state board to evaluate its programs designed to reduce emissions of criteria air pollutants, including programs to replace high polluter motor vehicles, and to make any adjustments necessary to those programs to achieve the same amount of additional reductions in emissions of criteria air pollutants by October 31, 2030, as would have been achieved through the implementation of those regulations during that period.
Existing law grants the commission the exclusive power to certify all thermal powerplants and related facilities in the state. Existing law authorizes the commission to administratively impose a civil penalty for providing any material false statement set forth in the application, presented in proceedings of the commission, or included in supplemental documentation provided by the applicant, or for any significant failure to comply with the terms or conditions of approval of the application. Existing law also requires the commission, in cooperation with the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration, to submit a report to the Legislature that includes a review of the price of gasoline in California and its impact on state revenues for the previous calendar year. Existing law authorizes the department to request from any person records required to be maintained or any other records in a person's possession, custody, or control that the department deems necessary to facilitate the report and for other, related duties. Existing law authorizes the commission to impose a civil penalty after receiving notification from the department that a person has failed or refused to provide information or records in the time and manner as required.
This bill would require that, for civil penalties imposed by the commission for providing any material false statement or any significant failure to comply in connection with an application for a thermal powerplant, or for failing or refusing to provide information or records for purposes of facilitating the report to the Legislature relating to the price of gasoline, and other duties, as described above, moneys recovered from the collection of penalties, or the settlement of penalties, be used by the commission to fund resiliency programs in underserved communities located near the facilities subject to the penalties to support community safety and workforce safety. The bill would require that, with respect to all other civil penalties imposed by the commission pursuant to laws governing energy conservation, as specified, 12 of the amount of the penalty imposed would be allocated directly to the applicable air pollution control district or air quality management district for community investment and improvement, as provided, and 12 of the amount would be allocated for purposes of investing in refinery workers safety, assistance, and support.
The bill would repeal the provisions of the bill on January 1, 2031.
Existing law generally makes any violation of a rule or regulation of the state board or an air district relating to nonvehicular air pollution control a misdemeanor.
To the extent that the bill would expand the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
By expanding the duties of air districts, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for specified reasons.

Statutes affected:
SB 237: 15653 WIC
01/29/25 - Introduced: 15653 WIC
03/20/25 - Amended Senate: 15653 WIC