ANTHONY VICTORIA:
For KVCR News, I’m Anthony Victoria. This is IE Latino Voices, where we highlight the people, organizations and stories shaping Latino communities across the Inland Empire.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is urging eight jurisdictions in the Inland Empire to comply with state requirements for truck routes under AB 98, a law intended to reduce the impacts of warehouse development on nearby communities. Joining us today is Tatiana Flores and Karla Cervantes with the Freight Communities Action Coalition about what the enforcement effort means for Inland Empire residents and what could happen next.
Thank you both so much for joining us today.
TATIANA FLORES:
Hello, Anthony. Thank you so much for having us today.
KARLA CERVANTES:
Yes, thank you. We're happy to be here.
VICTORIA:
Of course. So, what is AB 98? What does it require, and why does it matter for communities living near warehouses and major truck routes?
FLORES: Yeah. So, Assembly Bill 98 was state legislation that was passed back in 2024. Really meant to provide some protections. We don't have that many protections when it comes to warehousing in the area, so this legislation was just meant to provide some more standards for warehouse development coming in in the future. One of the main components that we focus on here is with the truck routes. So this law essentially outlines that cities in the state are supposed to update their truck routes to stay on the highway as much as possible and do their best, essentially, to stay away from homes, schools, parks, hospitals. So, really, just trying to protect residents that live nearby a bunch of warehousing.
VICTORIA:
On January 1, 2026, cities and warehouse-concentrated regions like ours were supposed to come into compliance with this truck route mandate. Correct?
FLORES: Yes. So, they had essentially two years since the bill was passed to start working on the truck routes, getting input from community members, having these workshops, these meetings, and we just have found that, you know, they've waited until like months before that deadline to do it. So now they're falling behind, and there's only been a few jurisdictions that have really been able to meet that deadline of January 1, 2026, without having to make additional edits, you know.
VICTORIA:
And which jurisdictions are those?
FLORES:
So, some of those include Jurupa Valley. They actually did update theirs before, and they did additional efforts after to actually, you know, continue hearing residents and using a lot of input that they got to make those changes. There's also been the County of San Bernardino actually did complete theirs on time as well. So we see a lot of the jurisdictions that have been able to complete those changes really being in San Bernardino County. I think when we're looking at Riverside County, they've been more delayed.
VICTORIA:
Interesting. And how have local governments involved residents when it comes to determining where truck routes are? Do you think they've done enough, or what more can be done?
CERVANTES:
I don't think that they've done enough. Not nearly enough, anyways. Even when these workshops do happen, they're not being as advertised as other city events could be, so then people won't show up as often because they don't know that these workshops are happening. But in reality, the bill is to protect residents who are in these warehouse concentration regions because it does affect their quality of life, which is kind of like the core of the bill, right? To protect them, so they could definitely do a lot more. I don't think that having maybe one or two workshops is enough, especially if it's in an area where people might not even know that this bill really essentially exists. And I think they're missing out by not having that community perspective in order to be able to create these routes.
VICTORIA:
What should people expect now that the AG has come out with this enforcement announcement? What accountability measures are needed to ensure that this bill and that the law continues to be enforced?
FLORES:
In my eyes, I believe this serves as a warning. There is, you know, a portion of the bill that actually talks about being fined every six months if jurisdictions aren't meeting these guidelines that the bill has.
CERVANTES:
Yeah, I agree. This enforcement effort really, really needs to take off. It should have taken off a while ago. We are 10 months in, and there hasn't been enough workshops being done, and so these efforts are inadequate to what the bill mandates it to be.
VICTORIA:
Well, thank you both so much for joining us. Really appreciate it.
FLORES:
Thank you.
CERVANTES:
Yeah, thanks for having us.
Tatiana Flores works with the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice and is based in Moreno Valley. Karla Cervantes is with the Sierra Club’s San Gorgonio Chapter and is a founding member of the Mead Valley Coalition for Clean Air. Both are part of the Freight Communities Action Coalition, a regional coalition focused on the impacts of freight and warehouse development on nearby communities.
