Suzanne Luke

The Committee on Equity, Justice and Inclusion meeting addressed the prior review of proposed revisions to the Board adopted delegation of authority to the Executive Director regarding rulemaking processes, incorporating non-substantive changes suggested by the Fair Political Practices Commission. These proposed revisions were reviewed using the Equity Lens Assessment Rubric and approved for full Board review. A significant portion of the meeting involved guest speakers from the California Racial Equity Commission, where Dr. Larissa Estes presented on Community Engagement Strategies, including an overview of the Commission's activities and best practices. The committee also conducted a Charter Review and discussed future meeting dates, scheduling sessions for February 19, 2026, July 17, 2026, and October 16, 2026.

The Board held a Special meeting. Key agenda items included the Pledge of Allegiance, led by the Chief Legal Officer of the California New Car Dealers Association. The meeting proceeded to an oral presentation before the Public Members of the Board concerning two matters: KM3G INC., d/b/a Putnam Kia of Burlingame v. Kia America Inc. (Protest No. PR-2803-22), and IVS NorCal LLC, d/b/a Kuhn INEOS Grenadier v. INEOS Automotive Americas, LLC (Protest No. PR-2856-24). Following this, the Board convened in closed Executive Session to deliberate decisions on proposed decisions following remand, specifically addressing the KM3G INC. case.

The General Meeting agenda includes several key items: the introduction and welcome of newly appointed board members, a discussion on the state of the automotive industry by industry associations, and the approval of minutes from various meetings held on July 31, 2025, and August 1, 2025. Other major topics include the election of the Board President and Vice President, annual committee appointments across nine standing committees and two working committees, consideration of resolutions for former board members and administrative law judges, and updates/discussions on regulatory changes suggested by the Office of Administrative Law and the Fair Political Practices Commission. Fiscal matters, including reports on the Board's financial condition and the proposed budget for the next fiscal year, are scheduled, as is a discussion concerning ZEV Readiness Awards and the EV Expert Pledge initiative. The agenda concludes with reports on pending legislation, the Executive Director's report, a closed Executive Session for performance reviews, review of 2026 meeting dates, and public comment.

The Committee on Equity, Justice and Inclusion meeting agenda included several key discussions and considerations. Topics included proposed revisions to the Board's Vision, Mission, and Values statements, and discussion regarding a Land Acknowledgment to be read at meetings along with corresponding action steps. Furthermore, the committee addressed virtual and telephonic access to public meetings to improve overall accessibility. The charter for the committee was also scheduled for review, followed by future meeting date discussions and public comment.

The Public Members of the Board considered the administrative record and the Proposed Decision Following Remand. The Board adopted the Proposed Decision Following Remand as its final Decision with an amendment to remove the reference to the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act in the description of public comments received.