SB 153: Transportation budget trailer bill.

Official summary

Legislative Counsel’s Digest (official, as of the latest version). Written by nonpartisan legislative staff; reproduced verbatim.

(1)Existing law imposes various functions and duties on the State Air Resources Board relating to reducing emissions of air pollutants. Existing law requires the state board to identify toxic air contaminants that are emitted into the ambient air of the state and to adopt airborne toxic control measures to reduce emissions of toxic air contaminants. Pursuant to its authority, the state board has adopted the Transport Refrigeration Unit Regulation to reduce emissions of toxic air contaminants and other pollutants from diesel-fueled transport refrigeration units used to power electrically driven refrigerated shipping containers and trailers that are operated in California. Existing law authorizes the state board under certain circumstances to impose a fee to cover the cost of its regulation of specified activities.

This bill would authorize the state board to impose a fee on any entity regulated by the state board under the Transport Refrigeration Unit Regulation for the state board’s reasonable regulatory costs associated with the implementation, administration, and enforcement of that regulation, as specified. The bill would require the revenues collected from the fee to be deposited into the Certification and Compliance Fund and to be expended, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for those costs.

(2)Existing law requires all moneys, except for fines and penalties, collected by the state board as part of a market-based compliance mechanism to be deposited into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and to be available upon appropriation. Existing law continuously appropriates specified portions of the annual proceeds in the fund to various programs, including 5% for the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, which is administered by the Department of Transportation and provides operating and capital assistance for transit agencies to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases and improve mobility. Existing law requires the Controller to allocate funding under the program for the 2019–20 to 2022–23, inclusive, fiscal years to recipient transit agencies pursuant to specified individual operator ratios published by the Controller.

This bill would extend the application of those individual operator ratios to the allocation of that funding through the 2025–26 fiscal year.

(3)Under existing law, public transportation systems funded under the Mills-Alquist-Deddeh Act that provide charter bus services are required to establish rates for those services that, among other things, are either at least equal to the average of the 3 lowest current rates charged by private charter bus carriers operating charters in the same service area of the system or at least equal to the fully allocated cost of each charter operated, as specified.

This bill would revise that rate requirement to instead require rates to be established that are either at least equal to the average of the 3 lowest current rates charged by private charter bus carriers operating charters in the same service area of the system or at least equal to the marginal cost of each charter operated, as specified.

Sponsors

“Support” is shown only as formal sponsorship recorded by the legislature. Roll-call votes are available on the official bill page.

Recent official actions

1. September 17, 2025Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 109, Statutes of 2025.
2. September 17, 2025Approved by the Governor.
3. September 15, 2025Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3:30 p.m.
4. September 12, 2025Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 29. Noes 0. Page 2954.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.
5. September 12, 2025In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
6. September 11, 2025Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 59. Noes 18. Page 3323.) Ordered to the Senate.
7. September 10, 2025Ordered to third reading.
8. September 10, 2025Withdrawn from committee.
9. September 10, 2025Assembly Rule 96 suspended. (Ayes 56. Noes 19. Page 3164.)
10. September 8, 2025From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on BUDGET.
11. March 24, 2025Referred to Com. on BUDGET.
12. March 20, 2025In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.