Children's Breathing Rights Act Facts

Bill aims to increase penalty caps for serious air polluters to fund asthma-related and enforcement activities.

Background

• According to the 1998 Environmental Working Group (EWG) report, School Haze: Air Pollution Near California Schools, more than 245 million pounds of industrial air pollution were emitted near California schools in 1995 (the latest figure available). Furthermore, one-half of the state's students attended a school located within one mile of a reported source of airborne emissions of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects, developmental damage, or respiratory illness.
• Four of the six largest industrial air polluters in California were within one mile of 18 different schools with an enrollment of more than 10,000 students. Statewide, more than 2.8 million children were enrolled in schools located near reported air emissions of carcinogens, reproductive toxins, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide or particulate matter.
• In 2004, another EWG report, Still Above the Law: How California's Major Air Polluters Get Away With It, revealed that major polluters have clearly accepted low fines as the cost of doing business - permission to pollute without the threat of major consequences. These industries include oil and gas refineries, power plants, and other large industrial facilities.
• Local air districts have discretion in determining the most effective enforcement response to a violation, so it is up to the state to ensure that penalties are not so low as to be a minor inconvenience to serious air polluter.
• California needs to increase penalties for and enhance enforcement of serious stationary source violators that put profits over air pollution prevention.

ProblemWithout increasing penalties for serious air polluters, some of California's major air-polluting industries that put profit over pollution prevention may find it more cost-effective to violate environmental laws and place competitors that comply with environmental laws at an economic disadvantage.

Solutions

1. Increase the penalty caps for civil and criminal penalties, and add a penalty cap for serious violators of air pollution laws.
2. Define a "serious violator" as a person who (a) purposely or knowingly disconnects any monitoring device, (b) purposely or knowingly submits fraudulent emission reports, or (c) commits a high priority violation, as the term is used in relation to the federal Clean Air Act.
3. Create the Children's Breathing Rights Act in the State Treasury to deposit 10% of all penalties and settlements, including those from serious violators of air pollution laws, and
4. Use those penalties and settlements deposited into the Children's Breathing Rigfhts Fund to (a) fund local children's health initiatives to ensure basic health coverage, including asthma services in schools and communities located in the same air district that the violation occurred, (b) enhance state and local air quality enforcement activities, and (c) ensure that the most egregious violators of the California Clean Air Act are prosecuted for their violations.

Attachment	Size
SB20120520amended203-30-06.pdf	182.5 KB
SB20120520amended2004-18-06.pdf	69.5 KB
SB20120520Passes20Environmental20Quality20Committee2005-01-06_1.pdf	51.52 KB

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