(a) The San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District formed by the Counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 40150), and consisting of the Counties of Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare, and that portion of the County of Kern that is within the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin, is a single integrated agency with all staff under one centralized management structure that is able to implement programs on a basinwide basis, and has all of the following:

(1) An individual air pollution control officer who is responsible for the issuance of all permits by the unified district.

(2) A single budget for the unified district with resources allocated based on the program needs of the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin.

(3) A uniform fee structure.

(4) Three hearing boards established pursuant to Section 40800. One hearing board shall serve the northern region, one shall serve the central region, and one shall serve the southern region. Identical policies governing the operation of each hearing board shall be established by the unified district board and shall be binding upon each hearing board.

(5) A citizen’s advisory committee.

(b) Rules and regulations adopted by the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District are binding on all counties within the unified district. The unified district shall enforce all permits issued by the unified district and all permits issued by the individual county districts prior to formation of the unified district. The unified district shall review, revise, adopt, and implement any air pollution control plans required within the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin by state and federal law.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District shall be governed by a district board composed of 15 voting members, appointed as follows:

(1) Eight members, one of whom shall be appointed by each of the Counties of Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Tulare. The board of supervisors of each of those counties shall, by majority vote, appoint one of its members to serve as a member of the district board.

(2) Five city council members appointed by the special city selection committee created pursuant to Section 40600.5. The special city selection committee shall not appoint more than one city council member representing a city located in the same county. Of the five city council members appointed pursuant to this paragraph, three shall be from a city having a population of less than 100,000, with one member selected from the northern region, one from the central region, and one from the southern region of the district. The other two city council members appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall be from a city having a population of 100,000 or more, with each member selected from different regions of the district.

(3) The terms of office for members appointed pursuant to paragraph (2) after April 1, 2007, shall be three years.

(4) Two public members appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate, as follows:

(A) One public member who is a physician, actively practicing within the district, whose daily practice or research specialty lies in the health effects of air pollution on vulnerable populations.

(B) One public member who has medical or scientific expertise in the health effects of air pollution.

(5) The terms of office for the members initially appointed pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (4) shall be as follows:

(A) For the member appointed pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (4), the term shall be four years.

(B) For the member appointed pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (4), the term shall be two years.

(6) After the initial term of appointment, the terms of office for the members appointed pursuant to subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (4) shall be four years.

(d) Each member shall be appointed on the basis of his or her demonstrated interest and proven ability in the field of air pollution control and their understanding of the needs of the general public in connection with air pollution problems of the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin.

(e) Each member shall be appointed on the basis of his or her ability to attend substantially all meetings of the district board, to discharge all duties and responsibilities of a member of the district board on a regular basis, and to participate actively in the affairs of the district. A member shall not designate an alternate for any purpose or otherwise be represented by another person in his or her capacity as a member of the district board.

(f) All members shall be residents of the district.

(g) Any vacancy in the office of a member of the district board shall be filled promptly by the appointing authority.

(h) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1) “Central region” means the Counties of Fresno, Kings, and Madera.

(2) “Northern region” means the Counties of Merced, San Joaquin, and Stanislaus.

(3) “Southern region” means the Counties of Kern and Tulare.

(Amended by Stats. 2008, Ch. 622, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2009.)