California lawmakers on Thursday killed a pair of Republican bills that would have given the Legislature more oversight of state air regulators.
What Happened: The state Senate Appropriations Committee blocked state Sen. Kelly Seyarto’s (R) SB 986 and state Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares’ (R) SB 1161. The two bills would have given lawmakers final sign-off on major regulations and created new requirements for the California Air Resources Board to publicize the impact of climate and pollution rules on residents’ pocketbooks, respectively.
Seyarto’s proposal would have given state lawmakers 60 days to review a major regulation — a rule with an estimated economic impact of at least $50 million — before it took effect. That’s a threshold CARB has most often crossed.
SB 1161 would have required CARB to release an economic impact assessment on the potential costs for low- and middle-income families each time it develops a new regulation.
