California Public Resources Code

§ 35641

PRC § 35641 Effective Jan 1, 2026Div. 26.5 · Ch. 3.3

Statute text

(a)The Legislature finds and declares that expansion of the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program by local air pollution control districts and air quality management districts and stakeholders is a critical strategy in advancing protection of marine mammals through partnerships that also support the maritime industry and local public health.

(b)Subject to the availability of funding, the council shall participate, as a stakeholder and in an advisory capacity, in the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program with air pollution control districts and air quality management districts along the coast and other stakeholders, including the federal Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, and the maritime industry, to support, in an advisory capacity, coastal air districts in their efforts to implement a statewide voluntary vessel speed reduction and sustainable shipping program for the California coast in order to reduce air pollution, the risk of fatal vessel strikes on whales, and harmful underwater acoustic impacts.

(c)Expansion of the existing Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program by local air pollution control districts and air quality management districts shall be a single unified program, and may include all of the following components developed in a manner that is consistent with how the program components were developed for the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program:

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Legislative history

Added by Stats. 2025, Ch. 606, Sec. 1. (AB 14) Effective January 1, 2026.