Los Angeles Times

Freight pollution vote delayed

Air quality board will wait to weigh smog rules on facilities that contribute to emissions

- By Tony Barboza tony.barboza@latimes.com Twitter: @tonybarboz­a

Southern California air quality officials delayed action Friday on a proposal to draft regulation­s for warehouses, rail yards and large constructi­on projects that are responsibl­e for much of the region’s most harmful, smog-forming emissions.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District governing board had been scheduled to vote on whether to use its authority to regulate freight facilities and developmen­t projects as indirect sources of pollution due to the large number of trucks, trains and constructi­on equipment they attract.

But the panel postponed the matter to its next meeting in May, citing the absence of three members, including Chairman William A. Burke, who was out sick.

Despite the absences, the board heard the results of a poll it commission­ed, which found a majority of voters in the region support the agency pursuing a local ballot measure for a quartercen­t sales tax increase to fund pollution-reduction programs.

The tax-hike proposal is controvers­ial and remains in its early stages. If ultimately approved by voters across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties on the 2020 ballot, it could raise an estimated $700 million a year, according to the district.

Of those surveyed, 65% favor the state Legislatur­e giving the South Coast district authority to seek voter approval of a ballot measure to raise incentive funds for cleaner cars and trucks, according to online and telephone interviews with 1,490 registered voters. A narrower majority of 54% would support a quarter-cent sales tax hike for such programs.

The air board did not take action based on the poll. It remains unclear whether such a measure would require a simple majority or a two-thirds vote to pass.

The idea has drawn criticism from environmen­talists and business-aligned Republican­s on the board, who say it would unfairly burden residents across the region to fund clean-air incentives to industry. But Democrats on the panel say voters should have the chance to decide how to pay for cleaning the air.

A potential sales tax increase has emerged as one possible way for the agency to meet its obligation­s to cut the nation’s worst smog to federal health standards. To meet looming deadlines, the district says it must increase funding for cleaner vehicles to $1 billion a year, but so far is falling short.

Also Friday, the panel approved a $120,000 no-bid contract with the consulting firm of former California Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez to help search for those pollution-reduction funds.

Under the agreement, Pérez’s company, Double Nickel Advisors, would provide “strategic advice” to the air district regarding its communicat­ion and messaging to the state Legislatur­e and governor’s administra­tion.

The contract was not competitiv­ely bid, according to a staff report, because Pérez’s position as former Assembly speaker gives his firm “special and unique capabiliti­es that will ensure the agency’s communicat­ions ... garner support for our funding needs.”

Pérez is not registered as a lobbyist and has agreed not to lobby on the district’s behalf, according to staff for the district, which has three lobbyists in Sacramento.

The district previously hired Pérez’s firm in 2016, and records show the district has since awarded the firm more than $250,000 in strategic consulting contracts.

 ?? Photograph­s by Gina Ferazzi Los Angeles Times ?? A STATE panel is considerin­g rules on warehouses and other sites that serve as indirect sources of pollution. Above, traffic in Mira Loma.
Photograph­s by Gina Ferazzi Los Angeles Times A STATE panel is considerin­g rules on warehouses and other sites that serve as indirect sources of pollution. Above, traffic in Mira Loma.
 ?? GIna Ferazzi Gina Ferazzi ?? JERRY DENNY, with his dog, says he won’t sell his home in Fontana to make way for more warehouses. A state poll found that a majority of voters support a sales tax hike to fund incentives for cleaner vehicles.
GIna Ferazzi Gina Ferazzi JERRY DENNY, with his dog, says he won’t sell his home in Fontana to make way for more warehouses. A state poll found that a majority of voters support a sales tax hike to fund incentives for cleaner vehicles.

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