Long Beach Municipal Code Ch. 8.65 Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction

A. The City finds and declares that:

1. The City is committed to improving the public health, safety and welfare, including air quality;

2. Mobile sources are a major contributor to air pollution in the South Coast Air Basin;

3. Air quality goals for the region established by State law cannot be met without reducing air pollution from mobile sources;

4. The South Coast Air Quality Management Plan ("AQMP") calls upon cities and counties to reduce emissions from motor vehicles consistent with the requirements of the California Clean Air Act of 1988, by developing and implementing mobile source air pollution reduction programs;

5. Such programs place demands upon the City's funds, those programs should be financed by shifting the responsibility for financing from the general fund to the motor vehicles creating the demand, to the greatest extent possible;

6. Section 44223, added to the Health and Safety Code by action of the California Legislature on September 30, 1990 (Chapter 1705 of the 1990 Statutes), authorizes the South Coast Air Quality Management District ("SCAQMD") to impose an additional motor vehicle registration fee of two dollars ($2.00), commencing on April 1, 1991, increasing to four dollars ($4.00), commencing on April 1, 1992, to finance the implementation of transportation measures embodied in the AQMP and provisions of the California Clean Air Act;

7. Forty cents ($0.40) of every dollar ($1.00) collected under Health and Safety Code § 44223, shall be distributed to cities and counties located in the South Coast Air Quality Management District that comply with Health and Safety Code § 44243 of the Code, based on the jurisdictions' prorated share of population as defined by the State Department of Finance;

8. The City is located within the South Coast Air Quality Management District and is eligible to receive a portion of the revenues from the additional motor vehicle registration fees contingent upon enactment of this Chapter;

9. The prorated share of the fee revenues for cities that fail to adopt provisions pursuant to Health and Safety Code § 44243(b)(3), shall be distributed instead to the jurisdictions within the district that have adopted such provisions; and

10. The imposition of the additional motor vehicle registration fee by the SCAQMD to finance mobile source air pollution reduction programs is in the best interest of the City and promotes the general welfare of its residents.

B. This Chapter is intended to support the SCAQMD's imposition of the vehicle registration fee and to bring the City into compliance with the requirements set forth in Health and Safety Code § 44243, in order to receive fee revenues for the purpose of implementing programs to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles.

(Ord. C-6920 § 1 (part), 1991)

As used in this Chapter, the following words and phrases shall have meanings attributed to them as follows:

A. "City" means the City of Long Beach, California.

B. "Fee Administrator" means the Director of Financial Management of the City or the Director's designee.

C. "Mobile source air pollution reduction program" means any program or project implemented by the City to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles which it determines will be consistent with the California Clean Air Act of 1988, or the plan proposed pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 40460) of Chapter 5.5 of Part 3 of the California Health and Safety Code.

D. "SCAQMD" means the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

(Ord. C-6920 § 1 (part), 1991)

A. The additional vehicle registration fees disbursed by the SCAQMD and remitted to the City, pursuant to the ordinance codified in this Section, shall be accepted by the Fee Administrator.

B. The Fee Administrator shall establish a Special Revenue Fund, and upon receipt of vehicle registration fees, the Fee Administrator shall deposit such funds into the Special Revenue Fund. All interest earned by the Special Revenue Fund shall be credited only to that fund.

C. All revenues received from the SCAQMD and deposited in the Special Revenue Fund shall be exclusively expended on mobile source emission reduction programs as defined in Subsection 8.65.020.C. Such revenues and any interest earned on the revenues shall be expended within one (1) year of the completion of the programs.

(Ord. C-6920 § 1 (part), 1991)

City shall consent to an audit of all programs and projects funded by vehicle registration fee revenues received from the SCAQMD pursuant to Health and Safety Code § 44223. The audit shall be conducted during reasonable times and normal business hours by an independent Auditor selected by the SCAQMD as provided in Health and Safety Code §§ 44244 and 44244.1(a), and prior written notice of the audit shall be given to City.

(Ord. C-6920 § 1 (part), 1991)

The provisions of this Chapter shall be construed as necessary to effectively carry out its purposes, which are hereby found and declared to be in furtherance of the public health, safety, welfare and convenience.

(Ord. C-6920 § 1 (part), 1991)