CSDA has issued an important “Call to Action” on SB 496 and AB 259, and we respectfully request your agency send letters of support for both bills.

Below you will find information on both bills, along with a link that will directly take you to the autofill letter form. If you have any questions, please contact me.

SB 496

CSDA, in partnership with local government advocates representing cities and counties, has co-sponsored SB 496 (Hurtado) to provide relief to local agencies in their efforts to comply with the ambitious deadlines and requirements of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Advanced Clean Fleets (ACF)  / Zero-Emission Vehicles (ZEV) mandates.
As local agencies strive to achieve the State’s climate and emissions goals, while confronting the barriers outside their control, SB 496 will help state and local agencies more effectively navigate the ACF regulation and its associated risks and costs to our communities. Of critical concern to local governments, the ACF mandates on medium-duty and heavy-duty fleets are creating unnecessary challenges to maintaining the many critical services Californians rely upon for their most essential daily needs as well as during emergencies and disasters.

SB 496 will help state and local agencies meet both the needs of our communities and California’s climate goals in three important areas:

1.       Protecting the health and safety of our communities:

1.       SB 496 updates the emergency vehicle exemption within the ACF to allow those vehicles that respond to and support critical operations related to emergencies and disasters, often under austere conditions, to continue to protect our communities. Our front-line workers need to be able to rely on their vehicle working under any condition during a fire, earthquake, storm, or other emergency where their service is critical.

2.       Prioritizing affordability for our hard-working families:

1.       SB 496 modifies the requirements of the daily usage exemption, removing barriers for the applicant to comply with the mandate. Moreover, the legislation promotes affordability amid rapidly rising cost pressures on essential local services by averting the costly acquisition of ZEVs before it is possible to install the infrastructure required to use them.

3.       Promoting transparency and accountability for our government:

1.       SB 496 establishes an Appeals Advisory Committee by which local agencies may request a review of exemption request denials. This ensures transparency while protecting due process for those seeking further review.

Visit Advanced Clean Fleets Reform Measure - California Special Districts Association for more information and to submit a letter of support.

AB 259 (fact sheet attached)

In 2022, the Legislature passed Assembly Bill 2449 (Rubio), a bill related to the Ralph M. Brown Act (“the Brown Act”). Beginning in 2023, local agencies were provided with alternative Brown Act meeting procedures able to be observed in the event of a board member’s absence in connection with a “just cause” or “emergency circumstances,” allowing for those members so-affected to participate in the meeting remotely consistent with the process detailed in the bill. Since that time, several special districts and other local agencies have utilized the procedures established by AB 2449, successfully facilitating remote participation for legislative policymakers that would otherwise been encumbered by illness, official travel, or medical emergency.

Though the terms of AB 2449 have been amended since their passage (most notably by Assembly Bill 2302 (Addis, 2024)), the sunset date associated with its terms has not been changed; the alternative Brown Act meeting procedures established by the bill expire at the end of 2025. To avoid this outcome and preserve the meeting flexibility provided by AB 2449, CSDA is sponsoring legislation to remove the sunset associated with the bill. CSDA is partnering with the office of Assembly Member Blanca Rubio (D-Baldwin Park), author of the original bill, to run this legislation.

Visit Sunset Elimination for Brown Act Meeting Procedures - California Special Districts Association for more information and to submit a letter of support.