Irvine, CA., - Over 40 leading business organizations and community representatives from diverse industries including restaurants, retail, manufacturing, grocers, engineers, construction and others have come together to call on the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) to reject the proposed emission reduction targets under SB 375. On Thursday September 2nd SCAG members will meet at 11:00am in Downtown Los Angeles at 818 W. 7th Street, Floor 12 to vote whether or not to accept the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets proposal by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).
CARB staff recently released their recommended SB 375 targets, and the proposals were shocking. Expert analysis has shown that the massive reduction targets could result in draconian measures such as gas over $9 per gallon, and increase travel costs by 460 percent. The main emission reduction strategies fall into three categories: 1) implementing more taxes and fees; 2) encouraging fewer people to live outside the dense urban core; 3) and forcing people to adopt more of a non-motorized lifestyle.
SB 375 was passed in 2008 to address regional planning for transportation, housing and greenhouse gasses. CARB launched a collaborative process that engaged officials at the local level to identify emission reduction targets associated with land use and transportation that are both ambitious and achievable. Regional Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) were in charge of recommending emission reduction targets that they forecasted to meet the goals of SB 375. However, CARB staff’s recommended targets are much higher than the range that was considered and evaluated during these meetings.
BIASC Chief Executive Officer, Richard Lambros stated, “There is no explanation or basis as to why CARB moved way beyond the targets discussed in the workshops. They ignored public input and expert testimony, and adopted extreme targets that were never vetted in the public process. These targets would result in huge behavior changes and skyrocketing costs through avenues such as a VMT tax, congestion pricing, and gasoline prices of more than $9 a gallon.”
The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) initially recommended a target reduction rate range of 6-8% for 2020 and 3-6% for 2035 that was cited as ambitious but also achievable. But CARB set the Southern California levels much higher at 8% for 2020 and 13% for 2035.
“In putting together SB 375 targets, CARB has disregarded proper process, and thrown the stakeholder input out the window,” said Jack Stewart, president of the California Manufacturers and Technology Association. “They are recommending targets without conducting an economic impact analysis, or adequately modeling how the targets will negatively affect California’s businesses and families. The increased costs, taxes, and business fees that come with these targets will cripple California’s remaining manufacturing industry and the good-paying jobs that come with it.”
California’s business leaders are working with local officials, state legislators, and other community representatives to encourage a more moderate approach to the SB 375 targets. They submitted letters and will attend Thursday’s SCAG meeting, requesting that SCAG disregard the current proposal and instead set the Southern California levels at 5% for 2020 and 3% for 2035.
Jim Earp, executive director of the California Alliance for Jobs, has expressed his fear that the targets will hurt California’s economy: "Governor Schwarzenegger, President Obama and many other leaders maintain that improving our environment will create new jobs. For that to be a reality, it takes more than rhetoric. The proposal before the Air Resources Board to reduce greenhouse gasses in California does not achieve that goal. Quite the opposite. Thousands of jobs will be lost -- most of them in the construction industry, which is already suffering 25 percent unemployment. In fact, the projections being used to achieve the emissions reductions targets desired by the Air Resources Board will actually require that the current recession be extended. That is not acceptable. The bureaucrats who maintain such a ridiculous position are the ones who ought to be looking for a new job."
The Building Industry Association of Southern California (BIASC) is a nonprofit trade association representing more than 1,600 member companies with 100,000 employees. Our mission is to promote and protect the industry to ensure our members' success in providing homes for all Southern Californians.
