Senate Standing Committee on Local Government

Joining everyone for joining us for this meeting.

The Senate welcomes the public in person. We are holding our Committee hearings here in the Capitol building. I ask all Members of the Committee be present in room 113 so we can establish our quorum and begin our hearing. We only have one bill on today's agenda.

We will be hearing a by Assemblymember Carrillo on a referral pursuant to Senate Rule 2910. This bill was significantly amended on the Senate Floor, so the Senate Rules Committee returned the bill to Committee to hear those changes. And we don't have quorum. We do not have quorum. Okay.

So since we don't have a quorum, we will still go ahead and do as a Committee, as a Subcommitee. So with that, now we will hear from Assemblymember Carrillo and Assembly Senator Reyes.

Good morning, Madam Chair, and thank you. Good morning, Members of the Committee. Senators. As you know, Senator Reyes and I authored AB98 last year which struck a delicate balance between improving the quality of life for communities impacted by the booming logistics industry and allowing the industry now flexibility to continue to thrive and bring jobs to California.

When I presented this bill in front of this Committee back in July, I told you that if we were successful, I would be back here at the end of session with a number of issues that we have reached a consensus on. I'm very happy to be here today to report that we have been successful.

After 10 months, hundreds of meetings and thousands of hours of negotiations, we are proud to bring this cleanup deal before you. Not every issue got resolved and there were many issues that were brought to us that were deemed inappropriate for this cleanup process. I won't lead the Committee to believe that we have solved all things warehouses.

There could probably be an entire standing Committee dedicated just to dealing with how industry impacts community and ensuring we strike the right balance to protect our economy and constituents. I will let Senator Reyes address the substance of this agreement.

But I want to offer my sincere thanks to all of the stakeholders who dedicated a huge amount of time and expertise to help us find this balance. Thank you all. And thank you, Senator Reyes. I am so happy that we are back here to fight for your community and to fight me and my staff as well.

Thank you, Assemblymember Senator Reyes.

Thank you, Madam Chair and Members for the opportunity to present AB735 with Assemblymember Carrillo. As Assemblymember Carrillo mentioned, AB98 was a Bill that was signed into law yesterday last year establishing new design build standards for 21st century warehouses. Also included planning requirements for local governments and creating setbacks from sensitive receptors dependent on the size of the warehouse.

This is the first time there has been legislation regarding warehouses and we are very proud of the work that we did in arriving at that. While a framework was put into place, there were outstanding issues that needed to be addressed related to manufacturing facilities, implementation concerns and affordable housing requirements, among others.

I'm proud to have worked with my Assembly partner. We didn't fight. We worked very well together. The staff may have fought and we addressed these issues. And the bill now has the following. It clarifies that manufacturing facilities are not considered logistics use facilities and therefore not subject to AB98.

Gives local government more time to update their truck routes and circulation elements. Provides safe harbor language to protect local governments making good faith efforts to meet the AB98 timelines from enforcement by the Attorney General. Clarifies that local governments cannot require less buffer zones, lower walls, less screening.

Addresses a concern from Senators that ask for cities with no logistics use facilities to be exempt from the requirements to update their circulation element.

Allows local governments outside of the warehouse concentration zone to establish truck routes via ordnance and allows the South Coast Air Quality Management District to use more data and tools to complete the Study required in AB98. We are confident that this bill fulfills the commitment Assemblymember Carrillo and I made last year to the Senate to strengthen AB98.

I do want to thank my partner, Assemblymember Carrillo, all the stakeholders, our respective staffs, and the Chair and your staff for helping us get to this final bill. We're proud of it and glad that it has been completed. And I respectfully ask for your Aye vote.

Great. Wonderful. Thank you both very, very much. We want to move on to see if there are witnesses in support. We have. Do we have any principal. No, no. No principal witnesses. Okay. So go ahead and good morning.

I'm Kate Eager with Wideman Group on behalf of the Supply Chain Federation. Thank you to Assemblymember Carrillo and Santa Reyes, their staffs and the Committee consultants for their work here in addressing the critical cleanup of AB98. Thank you.

Thank you.

Mark Newberger, California State Association counties. Also want to thank Senator Reyes and Member Carrillo, their staff, as well as the staff of this Committee and the Assembly Local Government Committee for all their hard work and all the amends that were needed for the cleanup for the warehouse bill. Definitely appreciate everyone's time and we are also in support.

Thank you.

Good morning, Madam Chair and Members. Lauren De Valencia representing the American Planning Association. Pleased to be here in support of the cleanup amendments and we really want to thank Assembly Member Carrillo, Senator Reyes staff and everybody who's been involved. It's really important for our planners and we greatly appreciate all the work on this. Thank you.

Melissa Sparks Kranz with the League of California Cities. Just want to express sincere support for the cleanup legislation. We really appreciate the diligence in working on the cleanup this year for everyone. Staff, Assembly Member Carrillo, Senator Reyes consultants. We appreciate it. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning. John Kennedy, Rural County Representatives of California and support. We appreciate the flexibility you've given to our communities and efforts to make it much more implemented in our communities. Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning. Adam Regele with the California Chamber of Commerce. I did prepare this morning to come up and talk about all the good faith work that went into this, which there are thousands of hours, and there was good faith in AB735 and the SB415, those vehicles, and there's a lot of good work in there.

I did wake up to a gut and amend on SB 352, which literally is an attempt to codify an element of the negotiations that didn't make it into these bills. So for that, it sort of changed how I was going to present myself today and our position.

We strongly support the elements of AB735 and everything, but it's akin for us as if industry ran elements that we didn't get in other bills and say it's not part of this deal, it's something totally separate. But for that I just want to put on record that does give us great pause, if not opposition.

So we'll be looking at SB 352 as part of this. Thanks.

Okay, thank you.

Morning. Madam Chair. Chris Shimoto, on behalf of the California Trucking Association, no position on the bill, but wanted to thank Assembly Member Carillo as well as Senator Reyes for their hard work, as well as their staff for. For all the work on this bill this year. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Okay. Is there anyone here in opposition to AB735? No one in opposition. Okay. We want to take Quorum, so if you could call our Members, please.

[Roll Call]

Thank you very much. Okay, now we'll go back. Members, any questions or comments here? No seeing them. Thank you. Senator Laird moves the bill. Okay. See. Yes, Senator Cabaldon.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thanks. Mr. Author negotiations. And Senator Reyes as well, your leadership on this. I appreciate the Chamber's point of point of view on the package and I'm trying to navigate it and figure it all out myself.

And the importance of the integrity of the negotiations that have been taking all this time that, you know, I hope we continue to work through those, those issues to assure that we're, we're meeting the full range of needs for, for logistics and for communities.

I also appreciate very much the content of the bill coming from an industrial city myself, with the port and all the truck routes and rail lines that run through my own city. So I'm definitely going to support the bill.

I want to point out, just for, for our, my colleagues and for our consultants, just something structural about, about this. And since the chair of the Assembly Local Government here Committee is, is here as well. This whole year, a series of bills that apply to every single city in the whole state.

And we have also had a lot of bills with the sort of the creeping disclaimer on state mandates.

None of this has anything to do with the warehouses or logistics, just the bill itself, where we use the disclaimer that we're not providing reimbursement to cities and counties as we are constitutionally obligated to do, because they have the ability to charge fees or fines or what have you.

And the problem with this is that if you are a community that has logistics facilities or you have the roads and highways and rail lines that connect to them, then it's foreseeable that you may be able to impose fees or fines that would cover the cost that you are incurring under this bill.

But when we do that in conjunction with legislation that applies to all cities and requires them to prepare plans and what have you, even if they have no.

I represent the City of Aylton, population 6 or 700, depending on the year, it has only one route in it, and it's a state highway over which they have no control. I represent Yountville, which has no logistics facilities whatsoever except for a few wine cellars.

And its only route that is available is a single road that is a state highway as well. And so there's the need for them to be doing even by 2030, even with the longer timeframe that is allowed under the legislation, there is no need for them to be doing this kind of work.

But they also will never have a chance. They can't impose a logistics analysis fee. They can't. They can never recover their costs.

And so it's not a problem with this bill in particular, I would just urge us to as a Committee to pay to attend to the to me, it seems like the creeping abuse of the fines and fees state mandates disclaimer so that we are consistent with we are keeping faith with the voters who said that if there is a state mandate that the state has to account for that and in appropriate circumstances pay for it.

But also that when we are looking at policies that are good in urban areas or in logistics areas like yours and mine, that we also understand that they are not necessarily the same in the Sierra Nevada or in the coastal ranges or in the tiny town, the micro towns that I represent when we write sweeping legislation that applies to all cities.

So I'm definitely supportive of this package, very much appreciate the work that's gone into it and just making these comments. So this year I've been just trying to point these issues out. Next year I'll plan on being a little bit more skeptical of legislation that doesn't cover that.

But I think we owe it to the Constitution and to the voters and to these smaller communities that we see them when we're writing packages like this. But congratulations to the author and looking forward to supporting the Bill. Great.

Thank you, Senator. And with that, I also want to chime in and I appreciate those comments, even if they're not specific. A lot of things come up with different bills that trigger something else. So I appreciate your comments. I want to thank the two of you. I mean, last year was difficult. The year before that was difficult.

I mean, you've really gone through some tough times and you both have dedicated yourselves, even if at times it was a little bit quiet between you, you both have dedicated yourself to figuring something out.

I know you both care about the community, and yet how do we help an industry move forward and grow and provide economic opportunity and jobs and careers without hurting that same community where those jobs are located. So I had a lot of faith that you would do that.

I hope that our staff was helpful with ideas and anything else, just moral support to keep moving forward. You are an exemplary model of leadership, and I hope that others take notice about tackling difficult jobs, difficult issues and staying with them.

And you're going to need that because as you mentioned, there are other issues that are outstanding and still have to work on them. So I urge you to figure out how to keep talking to each other and working those through, especially when you don't have the pressure sometimes of a particular bill. So with that, just congratulations again.

And we have a motion by Senator Laird. Any final closing remarks?

Respectfully asked. Please continue Respectfully ask for an Aye vote.

Okay. All right.

I just wanted to address the comment made by Senator Cabaldon. There is a provision on the bill that exempts jurisdictions that don't have warehouses. AB98 won't be required until they approve a warehouse.

And there was a lot of discussion on that too, for AG communities thinking and realizing that the road infrastructure is not there for that type of industry. But if seasonal warehousing happens because of AG. And in your comments, there is a provision every night that it won't apply to them until they decide to have a warehouse.

In my closing statement, I just want to reiterate that my commitment is still there to keep working on those issues, working with the Senator on what could come up next.

I'm committed to continue working with you and appreciate all the work that you did with me and your staff and primarily fighting for your community, which at the end of the day, that's why we're here, to fight for the people that we represent. I realize that the industry has a big presence in San Bernardino and Bloomington.

I go back to that tour that we did a year and a half ago now. Very impactful for me. And that is when we made a commitment that we would work on it again. Very proud to the place where we are right now.

Very thankful for all the work that's been put into it, not only from both of our staff, but also stakeholders which have a lot to say, a lot at stake for them. For me, keeping California growing, providing jobs, making California continue to be the fourth largest economy and protecting our communities.

With that, I respectfully ask for an Aye vote. Thank you, Senator.

Thank you. All right, ready? Roll call.

The motion is that the measure be returned to the Senate Floor for consideration. [Roll Call]

Okay, the vote is 5, 0. The bill will remain on call. Thank you all very much. Thank you.

So then we. You'll say.

You say we've been on the calls and then I'll resay the information.

Okay.

And I'll call out and the bill will be out.

Thank you to everybody.

Okay, go ahead. Oh, will we resume local government meeting, please, and go back to the roll call.

Okay. We're going to be lifting calls on file. Item number one, AB 735 Carrillo. The motion is that the measure be returned to the Senate Floor for consideration. The current vote is 5, 0. With the Chair voting Aye. [Roll Call] 5, 0.

Okay. The bill is out. 5, 0 at the end of the meeting. Thank you to everyone who participated in public testimony today. If you were not able to testify, please submit your comments or suggestions in writing to the Senate Local Government Committee. All of your comments are important to us.

I want to include them in the official hearing records. Thank you for your patience and cooperation. Thank you to all the staff. We don't know if we may be coming back or not. Who knows?

But if I don't get to get together with all of you again, I just want to thank the staff, our sergeants, Anton, Estelle, Sophia, Jonathan, Ryan, you've been extraordinary. Thank you so much for all the work that you've done with the Members in helping them get through these tough, sometimes very tough bills. So with that, thank you.

Have a good day. Adjourned.