RAMP engages in a wide range of policy efforts aimed at addressing the burden of asthma.  These efforts range from sponsoring state legislation on cleaning practices in schools to participating in regional and state level regulatory campaigns to improve outdoor air quality.

Below is a sample of the policies RAMP, in collaboration with key partners, including Community Action to Fight Asthma, is actively supporting.

To see our most recent policy action alerts, click here.

Outdoor Air Quality/Land Use

• Clean Car Regulations

This year, the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) will be updating a series of clean cars regulations.  These regulations will help drive technology towards cleaner cars, including pollution free cars, and healthier air.  Currently, CARB plans to release the proposed regulations in September for public comment and vote on a final version of the regulations in November.  Many environmental and public health advocates have joined the California Clean Cars Campaign to collectively advocate for the healthiest standards possible.  The campaign’s website has fact sheets about the regulations and directs you to ways you too can join the effort to ensure the next generation of vehicles in California continues lead the nation towards a clean car future.  We hope that you will join RAMP, many of our asthma coalition partners, and leaders from across the state in supporting this effort.

• AB 343 (Atkins) – Air quality considerations in redevelopment plans

This bill requires each redevelopment plan to consider and identify strategies for how redevelopment projects will help attain the climate, air quality, and energy conservation goals or applicable regional greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.

• AB 441 (Monning) – Health in Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs)

This bill requires that the California Transportation Commission include health issues in the guidelines promulgated by the commission for the preparation of RTPs.

• SB 535 (de Leon) – Community Benefits Fund

This bill requires a percentage of revenues generated through greenhouse gas emission policies be dedicated to the California Climate Change Community Benefits Fund.  This fund would be used in the most impacted and disadvantaged communities to fund programs or projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or mitigate direct health or environmental impacts of climate change.

• SB 739 (Lowenthal) – Air quality assessments at ports

This bill requires the Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles, and Oakland to assess their infrastructure and air quality improvement needs, including, but not limited to, projects that improve the efficiency of the movement of cargo, reduce congestion impacts associated with the movement of cargo, and reduce pollution associated with the movement of that cargo.

• CARB’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulations
  RAMP has supported various policies related to California’s effort to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.  RAMP has focused its attention on those climate change policies that have the most direct health “co-benefits” for those with asthma.  For example, policies to reduce GHGs through reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) have the added benefit of improving overall air quality.  RAMP is paying specific attention to regional and state efforts to reduce GHGs and VMT through land use (see SB 375).

Housing

• SB 184 (Leno) – Inclusionary Housing

This bill authorizes a city or county to adopt ordinances to establish, as a condition of development, inclusionary housing requirements.

Schools

• AB 516 (VM Perez) – Safe Routes to Schools

This bill modifies the Safe Routes to Schools program to enable increased participation from socio-economically disadvantaged schools and communities.

• SB 128 (Lowental) – Funding for high-performance schools

This bill adds the cost of designs and materials that support the characteristics of high-performance schools to the types of costs that are eligible for bond funds supporting school modernization.

• SB 394 (DeSaulnier) – Healthy Schools Act

This bill requires all school sites to send at least one person to trainings on integrated pest management at least once every 3 years.

Learn more about our policy advocacy, policy priorities, and view a tool to educate decision-makers about the problem of asthma and the need for environmental policy changes.

Policy & Advocacy | Asthma Briefing Kit | Policy Priorities | Policy Action Alerts