Partnership Opposes Unfair Regulation of Heavy-Duty Trucks, Expansion of Hospital Workers' Comp

Irwindale, CA - This week, the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership opposed two key state bills - one unfairly regulating medium- and heavy-duty trucks, the other expanding workers' comp presumptions of injury at hospital - while also supporting several key housing bills as well as two bills dealing with major local issues in the San Gabriel Valley. 

On Wednesday, the Partnership's Legislative Action Committee voted to oppose SB 44 (Skinner) which requires the state Air Resources Board to decrease greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles by 40% by 2030 and 80% by 2050 - however, the strategy would require those reductions to come solely from medium- and heavy-duty trucks which comprise only a small share of the total motor vehicles used in the state. The Committee also voted to oppose SB 567 (Caballero), which would create a presumption that hospitals are responsible for blood-borne infectious diseases, that would be regarded as an injury, and that hospital workers could file claims up to 10 years after they leave employment.

"These two bills hit the heart of our local economy here in the San Gabriel Valley," said Partnership President & CEO Bill Manis. "All of us depend on trucks to deliver our food to grocery stores, to stock all our stores, and get our goods to markets around the globe. Singling trucks out for emission reductions is a foolish, ineffective strategy that takes no account of how many jobs would be affected. Likewise, formally creating a presumption that hospitals are liable for workers' comp claims a full decade after someone leaves employment would raise health care prices precisely when the industry is trying to find ways to make health care cheaper."

The Partnership's Legislative Action Committee also voted to support several key housing bills. The Partnership has backed SB 751 (Rubio), which would create a San Gabriel Valley Regional Housing Trust, a joint powers authority that would strive to bring new funding for homelessness housing and services to the region. It also supports SB 450 (Umberg), which creates a CEQA exemption for motel conversion projects for homeless transitional and supportive housing as well as SB 744 (Caballero), which expedites judicial review of CEQA for Prop 1 & Prop 2 funded supportive housing projects.

Finally, the Partnership supports SB 7 (Portantino), a bill that currently removes the 710 "stubs" in Pasadena and Alhambra from the state freeway system. Senator Portantino hopes to amend the bill later this year to allow the transfer of the "stub" properties back to their respective cities. This is a key priority for the Partnership, to allow the cities to use the stubs or to redevelop the property as they see fit.

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