Sen. Niello Bill Would Require CA Air Resources Board to Analyze Cost-of-Living Impacts of its Regulations

Senator Roger Niello (R-Sacramento) has authored a California Air Resource Board bill to require the Board to explicitly analyze cost-of-living impacts when considering imposing major regulations, including effects on gasoline, electricity, groceries, housing construction, and business costs.

We know that the air board does not assess how its regulations impact customers and drivers, because the CARB Chair admitted this last year. 

In the Senate Environmental Quality Committee Wednesday, Sen. Niello introduced his bill, Senate Bill 981, which specifies that when the California Air Resources Board (CARB) prepares a Standardized Regulatory Impact Assessment (SRIA) for a major regulation, the analysis must also address cost‑of‑living impacts on California residents and businesses. Cost of living impacts includes, but is not limited to, the following: retail gasoline and transportation costs; groceries and consumer goods; housing and building construction costs; and costs to businesses.

Niello said CARB’s most consequential regulations often directly affect fuel prices, electricity rates, construction costs, and supply-chain expenses that show up in grocery and retail prices. Explicitly requiring an analysis of these categories within SRIA ensures that the economic picture presented to decision‑makers captures how rules affect household budgets, not just aggregate business costs or macroeconomic indicators.

Sen. Niello referred to a Public Policy Institute of California study which recently found that “the cost of basic necessities—which make up a large share of spending by lower- and middle-income workers—has increased substantially since 2020; food and rent are up 25 percent on average, and utilities and gas are up 40 percent.” California must consider the impacts of the regulations it creates on affordability and SB 981 asks of CARB to do just that.

Sen. Niello noted that the California Legislature cannot impact inflation and supply chain issues, but it can impact regulatory reform in the state.

In opposition to SB 981, Bill Magvern with the Coalition for Clean Air, claimed “California has by far the worst air pollution in the country.” This is an absurdly false statement. California’s air is the cleanest in the entire country.

Sen. Caroline Menjivar said CARB does not have the capacity to do the regulatory analysis in Sen. Niello’s bill. Niello challenged this noting that the burdens are actually on everyday Californians and businesses if the cost analyses are not performed.

According to Sen. Niello, SB 981 modestly modernizes the existing Standardized Regulatory Impact Report Assessment (SRIA) framework for CARB by explicitly requiring analysis of cost‑of‑living impacts, without impeding CARB’s ability to meet the state’s climate and air quality goals. That’s all.

It was evident that Democrats plan to kill Senator Niello’s bill, but as he clearly stated in the hearing, it’s important to note that any proposed regulations affecting California families and the economy should be part and parcel of the regulatory process.

Lastly, in 2024, 1,600 actual scientists sent a letter to the California Air Resources Board explaining, “There is ‘NO Climate Crisis.'” In fact, the scientists found that “California is in no danger of unusual drought: The annual precipitation in California has fluctuated greatly over the last 150 years, with only a slight decrease.”

California also has record low levels of air pollution that are below the threshold of human health effects, James E. Enstrom, PhD, MPH has told us repeatedly for years. He’s also one of the 1,600 scientists signed onto the letter to CARB.

A little additional background on California’s climate change/clean air laws:

AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, originally required the CARB to determine the 1990 statewide greenhouse gas emissions level and approve a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit that is equivalent to 1990 levels, to be achieved by 2020, and to adopt GHG emissions reductions measures by regulation. The CARB is authorized to include the use of market-based mechanisms to comply with these regulations.

The CARB was also given the authority to adopt and implement motor vehicle emission standards, in-use performance standards, and fuel specifications for the control of air pollution in the state to reduce petroleum use by 50%.

By 2015, Democrat Sen. Kevin de Leon authored SB 350, which directed the CARB to adopt and implement motor vehicle emissions standards, in-use performance standards, and motor vehicle fuel specifications in furtherance of achieving a 50% reduction in petroleum use in motor vehicles by January 1, 2030.

In 2018, “seeking to cement California’s reputation as a global leader in combatting climate change, Gov. Jerry Brown… signed two measures designed to push the state to 100 percent renewable electricity and so-called carbon neutrality by 2045,” NBC News reported. “Senate Bill 100 (also by Sen. de Leon) raises the state’s already ambitious goals for producing electricity from wind, solar and other green sources. The aim is to ensure greenhouse gas emissions are low enough that they can be absorbed by forests, oceans, soil and other natural systems.”

None of this legislation was or is necessary since the state already achieved 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions a few short years after AB 32 was passed. And that is how you know that it is not about clean air or fuel efficient vehicles; but it is about government control.