San Joaquin Valley's bad air will cause their air district a $29 million fine for exceeding federal ozone limits - and they plan to ask motorists to pay the bill, if the board supports the new registration fee.
The air district notes that motorists are responsible for 80% of the ozone problem. The fine itself will remain within the 8-county district and could be used to pay for mitigations like trading in older cars for less polluting ones.
"Faced with a fine of at least $29 million for exceeding federal ozone limits, the San Joaquin Valley's air quality regulators are proposing an annual surcharge of $10 to $24 on registration fees for the region's 2.7 million cars and trucks beginning next year."
The fee is enabled by 2008 legislation that requires a vote of the governing board only, unlike vehicle registration fees that the electorate will decide on Nov. 2. [See Prop. 21 would aid state parks by tacking $18 to car fees and county vehicle registration fees up to $10 enabled by SB 83 last year.]
From Bakersfield Californian: Drive a car? You may pay more for our bad air: "Rather than assessing the valley's largest stationary polluters, such as oil refineries, power plants and agricultural-production facilities, Air District officials are proposing to add approximately $10 to $12 to vehicle registrations in the valley."
"This is a fair thing to do in our view, since 80 percent of our smog comes from mobile sources," said Seyed Sadredin, Air District director."
FULL STORY: New Tactic in California for Paying Pollution Bill

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking
Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

Cal Fire Chatbot Fails to Answer Basic Questions
An AI chatbot designed to provide information about wildfires can’t answer questions about evacuation orders, among other problems.

What Happens if Trump Kills Section 8?
The Trump admin aims to slash federal rental aid by nearly half and shift distribution to states. Experts warn this could spike homelessness and destabilize communities nationwide.

Sean Duffy Targets Rainbow Crosswalks in Road Safety Efforts
Despite evidence that colorful crosswalks actually improve intersection safety — and the lack of almost any crosswalks at all on the nation’s most dangerous arterial roads — U.S. Transportation Secretary Duffy is calling on states to remove them.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Appalachian Highlands Housing Partners
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie