NBAA Calls for California Members to Oppose AB2501

June 23, 2006

NBAA is requesting Members to immediately communicate their opposition to California State Assembly Bill 2501, allegedly to monitor pollution levels.

California Assemblyman Ted Lieu’s (D-53) Assembly Bill 2501, if passed into law, will require the Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) to monitor turbine and turbo-prop aircraft taxi and ground operations 24 hours a day for one year beginning January 1, 2007. AB 2501, recently passed by the State Assembly, is now before the State Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing on Tuesday June 27, 2006. It then moves to the Appropriations Committee.

As law, AB2501 is pointless, wasteful, punitive and could set a dangerous precedent for several reasons: 1) it would be an unfunded mandate and could cost the City of Santa Monica more than $150,000 through 2008 according to the California State Assembly analysts; 2) a letter written by the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services dated October 7, 2005 titled “Assessment for the Communities Closest to the Santa Monica Municipal Airport” sights recent studies concluding no evidence indicating SMO to be a specific health risk to surrounding neighbors (http://www.lapublichealth.org/tox/docs/smairpot.pdf); 3) in a letter dated June 13, 2006, the FAA Western Region Administrator noted that the “FAA and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are currently conducting significant and ongoing research on this subject” partnered with the Center of Excellence. The Administrator also noted that “As currently drafted, the data gathering and disclosure requirements of California Assembly Bill Number 2501 do not amount to State regulation of aircraft operations or use of the navigable airspace, which would be preempted” by several U.S. Statutes; 4) this law would single out SMO.

NBAA requests that all California Members and those concerned about SMO access write members of the State Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing opposing 2501. Your action is critical to our success. SMO’s anti-airport groups are increasing pressure on California legislators.

The Committee members follow:

Senator Alan Lowenthal, Chair	Senator.Lowenthal@sen.ca.gov
Senator Tom McClintock, Vice-Chair	Senator.McClintock@sen.ca.gov
Senator Roy Ashburn	Senator.Ashburn@sen.ca.gov
Senator Gilbert Cedillo	Senator.Cedillo@sen.ca.gov
Senator Denise Ducheny	Senator.Ducheny@sen.ca.gov
Senator Robert Dutton	Senator.Dutton@sen.ca.gov
Senator Christine Kehoe	Senator.Kehoe@sen.ca.gov
Senator Michael Machado	Senator.Machado@sen.ca.gov
Senator Bob Margett	Senator.Margett@sen.ca.gov
Senator George Runner	Senator.Runner@sen.ca.gov
Senator Joe Simitian	Senator.Simitian@sen.ca.gov
Senator Nell Soto	Senator.Soto@sen.ca.gov
Senator Tom Torlakson	Senator.Torlakson@sen.ca.gov

Please forward copies of your communication to NBAA using any of the following methods:

E-Mail:	dburkhart@nbaa.org
Fax:	(760)749-6313
Mail:	Dan Burkhart 1200 18th St., NW Suite 400 Washington, DC 20036-2527

For more information on this issue, contact NBAA’s Dan Burkhart at dburkhart@nbaa.org.