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2008-11 South Coast Air Quality Management District's Vehicle Registration Fee ORDINANCE NO. 2008-11 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF MENIFEE SUPPORTING THE SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT'S VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEE PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE SECTION 44223 ET SEQ. (ADDED BY AB 2766), TAKING THE ACTIONS NECESSARY TO RECEIVE THE CITY'S SHARE OF FEE REVENUES FOR MOBILE SOURCE AIR POLLUTION REDUCTION PROGRAMS AND DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MENIFEE DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. FINDINGS The City of MENIFEE finds that: A. The City of MENIFEE is committed to improving the public health, safety, and welfare, including air quality; B. Mobile sources are a major contributor to air pollution in the South Coast Air Basin in which Menifee is located; C. Air quality goals for the region established by state law cannot be met without reducing air pollution from mobile sources; D. The South Coast Air Quality Management Plan calls upon cities to reduce emissions from motor vehicles consistent with the requirements of the California Clean Air Act of 1988 by developing and implementing mobile source air pollution reduction programs; E. Because such programs place demands upon the City's funds, those programs should be financed by shifting the responsibility for financing from the General Fund to the motor vehicles creating the demand, to the greatest extent possible; F. Section 44223 of the Health and Safety Code, authorizes the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) to impose an additional motor vehicle registration fee of two dollars ($2), commencing April 1, 1991, increasing to four dollars ($4), commencing April 1, 1992, to finance the implementation of transportation measures embodied in the AQMP and provisions of the California Clean Air Act; G. Forty cents of every dollar collected under Section 44223 of the Health and Safety Code shall be distributed to cities and counties located in the South Coast Air Quality Management District that comply with Section 44243(b) of that Code, based upon the jurisdictions' prorated share of population as defined by the State Department of Finance; 4823-8763-6483.1 1 H. The City of Menifee is located within the South Coast Air Quality Management District and is eligible to receive a portion of the revenues from the additional motor vehicle registration fees contingent upon adoption of this Ordinance; I. The prorated share of the fee revenues for cities that fail to adopt an ordinance pursuant to Section 44243(b)(3) of the Health and Safety Code shall be distributed instead to the jurisdictions within the (SCAQMD) that have adopted an Ordinance; J. The City of Menifee expresses its support for the adoption of motor vehicle registration fees to be used to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles pursuant to the Clean Air Act of 1988, as amended, and other plans prepared for that purpose. K. It is necessary for this ordinance to take effect immediately to protect the public health. Health and Safety Code section 44243(b)(1) requires the City to adopt and transmit this ordinance to SCAQMD within ninety (90)days of the date of the City's incorporation for the City to receive its share of the SCAQMD motor vehicle registration fee. The 90-day window October 1 through January 1 expires on January 1, 2009. If this ordinance were adopted as a regular ordinance, the adoption would not take place within this 90-day window and the City would not receive its share of the fee which could greatly reduce, and perhaps eliminate, the City's ability to implement programs to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles. SECTION 2. INTENT This Ordinance supports the SCAQMD's imposition of the vehicle registration fee and brings the City into compliance with the requirements set forth in Section 44243 of the Health and Safety Code in order to receive fee revenues for the purpose of implementing programs to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles, and requires the use of such fees only as set out herein. SECTION 3. DEFINITIONS As applied in this Ordinance, the following words and terms shall be defined as follows: A. "City" shall mean the City of Menifee. B. "Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Programs" shall mean any program or project implemented by the City to reduce air pollution from motor vehicles which it determines will be consistent with the California Clean Air Act of 1988 as it may be amended from time to time or other plans proposed pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 40460) of Chapter 5.5 of Part 3 of the California Health and Safety Code. C. "Fee Administrator" shall be the City Manager of his/her designee. SECTION 4. ADMINISTRATION OF VEHICLE REGISTRATION FEE A. Establishment of Air Quality Improvement Trust Fund: The Fee Administrator shall establish a separate interest-bearing fund account. All fees received hereunder 4823-8763-6483.1 2 shall be placed into this account. All interest earned by the Trust Fund Account shall be credited only to that account. B. Expenditure of Air Quality Improvement Trust Fund: All revenues received from the SCAQMD deposited in the Trust Fund Account shall be expended exclusively on Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Programs. Such revenues and any interest earned on the revenues shall be expended within one year of the completion of such programs. C. Audits: The City consents to an audit of all programs and projects funded by vehicle registration fee revenues received from the SCAQMD as provided in Section 44244.1 of the Health and Safety Code. SECTION 5: SEVERABILITY Should any sentence, section, clause, part or provision of this Ordinance be declared by the court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the same shall not affect the validity of the Ordinance as a whole, or any part thereof, other than the part declared to be invalid. SECTION 6: EFFECTIVE DATE Pursuant to Government Code section 36934, this ordinance is adopted as an urgency ordinance and shall take effect immediately upon passage by a 4/5 1h vote of the City Council. Passed, Approved and Adopted this 18th day of November 2008. AYES: &nm, j �YYIQJY1�f'l/ NOES: fYL4'j^�J ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Wallace W. Edgerton Mayor ATTEST: 4A'"J'tt - Kathy ennett, City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: Eliz eth Martyn, City Atto hey 4823-8763-6483.1 3