Gov Signs New CARB Law

Anthony Pignataro:

One of the bills Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law this week is SB 1402, which forces an entirely new layer of transparency on the California Air Resources Board.

As regular readers of this site know, there’s virtually no limit to CARB’s willingness to go after small businesses that violate our state’s myriad clean air regulations (click here for our story on how CARB threw a couple in jail, for instance). But in doing so, CARB isn’t always clear or detailed in explaining to companies what it was they’ve done wrong.

“CARB holds businesses accountable when they violate the California regulations they oversee,” Senator Robert Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, who sponsored the bill, said in a press release today. “The problem is that there was nothing that held CARB accountable in how the penalties were determined or the reason for the violation. This important piece of legislation is a significant step in the right direction in showing the business community that the State of California is willing to work with them.”

Dutton’s bill forces the Air Resources Board to explain to companies caught in their regulatory web exactly what they did wrong and the extent of how their failure to adhere to clean air laws contributed to worsening air pollution. It doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re CARB — one of the most powerful governing bodies in the state — even a small change like this can be an improvement.

SEPT. 29, 2010