Implementing Community-Centered Air Quality Law: Success Stories From California's Assembly Bill 617.

California Assembly Bill 617 (AB 617), signed into law in 2017, established the Community Air Protection Program to reduce air pollution and related health burdens in communities experiencing disproportionate exposures. Through this program, designated communities develop community emissions reduction programs (CERPs) in collaboration with local air districts and community members. While previous evaluations of AB 617 have focused on governance or individual case studies, limited evidence exists on how CERP strategies are implemented across communities and which approaches support public health goals. We present a comparative analysis of CERP strategies across 9 diverse AB 617 communities. Using a mixed-methods approach, we categorized more than 800 strategies through text analysis and qualitative coding into 25 comparable strategy groups. We evaluated implementation across 3 criteria-capacity for community health protection, adoption pathway, and ease of implementation-with funding expenditures used as a proxy for progress. Results show substantial diversity in strategy adoption, with success most strongly associated with creative program development, interagency coordination, and community capacity. These success stories provide insights for communities implementing CERPs and developing future local CERPs. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print September 24, 2026:e1-e11. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308696).