County air pollution control districts: Antelope Valley Air Quality Management District: board members: compensation.

Assembly Member Hart, with coauthor Senator Laird, advances a targeted measure to authorize reimbursement and compensation for members of county air pollution control district boards governed by existing Section 40100.5 rules and for the Antelope Valley district, codifying a per diem framework and expense reimbursement that board members would receive only after adopting an open-session resolution.

The bill adds two new Health and Safety Code provisions. First, Section 40100.5.5 permits reimbursement of actual and necessary expenses and allows compensation of up to $200 per day for attending board or committee meetings, or, with board authorization, while engaged in the district’s official business, subject to a $7,200 annual per-member cap. Increases beyond that cap may be authorized, but the higher amount must be the greater of either 5 percent per calendar year from the last adjustment or, beginning January 1, 2026, up to a 10 percent annual increase tied to the California CPI for the district’s area. Automatic future increases are forbidden, and compensation cannot be provided to a member who already receives reimbursement for the same activities from another entity. The framework applies only to members whose district membership is determined under Section 40100.5, and boards electing to compensate must file a three-year post-implementation report to the Legislature detailing effects on board composition and engagement, in accordance with Government Code 9795. Second, Section 41313 reproduces these provisions for the Antelope Valley district board, with identical limits, increase rules, duplication safeguards, and reporting obligations.

The bill includes explicit findings concluding that a special statute is necessary to authorize compensation for these particular boards, signaling an intention to address a unique statutory context. Implementation hinges on local action: compensation begins only after a board adopts a resolution at an open regular meeting, and districts choosing to compensate must monitor days of compensated activity, ensure no duplicate reimbursements, and prepare the mandated three-year report. Fiscal effects are presented as local matters with no state appropriation, with potential costs arising from per-member caps (for a seven-member board the upper bound could reach $50,400 annually, excluding reimbursements) and from staff time required to produce the required report. The framework envisions CPI-based adjustments starting in 2026 but keeps increases non-automatic, tying future changes to district action and regional inflation measurements.