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A big step toward cleaner air
Assembly Bill 3104, the Environmental Health and Air Quality Funding Act of 2004, will improve critical programs aimed at curtailing California’s escalating air pollution problem. Particulate matter, from diesel and other petroleum-based fuels has been linked to cancer, heart disease, asthma, and premature death. The vehicle emissions contributing to these epidemics can no longer be ignored, with the recent California Health Interview Survey reporting that almost 12% of Californians are diagnosed with asthma. Children are the most vulnerable, with one in six children in Fresno suffering from the disease, according to the American Lung Association.
The bill expands and creates programs in various areas, each addressing a specific problem:
- Carl Moyer Fund: This program was established in 1998 to help reduce pollution from heavy-duty diesel engines, including trucks. AB 3104 will expand the Moyer program to focus not only on reducing nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions – an ozone precursor- but also on particulate matter. Permanently funding the Moyer program will improve opportunities for cleaning up diesel-related air pollution that has been unquestionably linked to serious health problems, especially in low-income communities
- Lower Emission School Buses: This program reduces school children’s exposure to cancer-causing particulate matter emissions and NOx. The fund would allow for the purchase of new, low-emission buses and retrofit older buses with particulate traps and other emission control technologies
- Voluntary Accelerated Vehicle Retirement Program: This program helps California meet federal and state Clean Air Act requirements by accelerating the retirement of older high-polluting passenger cars. Through early voluntary retirement, significant reductions in emissions can be met by the state as owners switchover to newer, lower-emitting vehicles
- Asthma Research and Treatment Programs: AB 3104 will fund programs that research, assess, evaluate or treat asthma and other diseases linked to diesel and gasoline fuel-related air pollution
This year we have an opportunity to improve the health of our communities by passing this important legislation. We need your help to do that.
What You Can Do
AB 3104 goes to the Assembly floor for vote no later than this Friday, May 28th. Please contact your Assembly member today and tell him or her to support AB 3104 on the floor.
Your State Assembly Member
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
To find out whether your Assembly member sits on the Appropriations Committee, go to the State Assembly website.
