Stronger Renewable Energy Goals For California

Yesterday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an executive order calling on the state to streamline its renewable energy process, ideally making it easier to produce and sell renewable power. He also is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding among resources-protection agencies, prompting more sustainable siting of clean-energy plants.

The governor’s action comes at a critical time for the state of California. Most experts agree that clean energy will provide new “green jobs” to lift the Golden State’s economy, while reducing the pollution that causes global warming. Still, groups and individuals who want to protect our state’s wilderness resources worry that these same facilities could hurt animals, plants and wilderness areas in their path.

“Everyone agrees that generating more renewable power will energize our economy and reduce pollution, but we can’t ignore the impacts to wilderness in our quest to generate more clean energy in California,” said Jim Metropulos, Senior Advocate, Sierra Club California. “Sierra Club California hopes that involving agencies like the Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that protect these resources will lead to a better understanding of how we can build a clean-energy future that doesn’t hurt our precious ecosystem in the process.”

Sierra Club California has long called on lawmakers and the Schwarzenegger Administration to increase the standard to at least 33 percent by 2020. This summer, the California Air Resources Board joined that call, asserting that raising the standard would reduce the pollution that causes global warming.

Simply raising the required amount of renewable power generated by utilities won’t accomplish everything, Metropulos said. Sierra Club California urges additional reforms to ensure the continued success of a renewable energy program.

First, our state currently ties the price of clean energy to its future projected price of natural gas, known as the market price referent, which the state consistently underestimates. This forces would-be clean energy projects to compete against an artificially low fossil-fuel-based standard – an archaic, unsustainable practice that California must reverse.

In designing a new approach to renewable energy, the Schwarzenegger Administration and the California Legislature would do well to look to programs that already work. In Germany, a program known as “feed-in tariffs” sets up fixed prices for renewable energy, rewarding investors leery of our “boom or bust” system. Meanwhile, throughout California, communities are scrambling to get into “community choice aggregation,” pooling their buying power to get more bang for the buck.

As they move to expand renewable power generation in the state, state lawmakers and regulators always must keep in mind whether renewable sources of energy are equally sustainable in terms of environmental impacts or energy supply. For example, outdated methods of drawing on geothermal energy involve essentially poking holes in the ground and allowing the underground steam to escape into the atmosphere. This process releases both greenhouses gases as well as toxic materials.

“California has the power to retake the lead in developing new sources of clean, renewable power, as long as Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Legislature fix flaws in current renewable power standard law,” said Metropulos. “Adopting a truly sustainable standard that protects wild places while fully empowering clean-energy projects represents the best pathway to a clean-energy future.”

Priority Port Bill Sails off Assembly Floor

Senate Bill 974 (Lowenthal), a Sierra Club California-supported bill, just passed the California Assembly by a more than 2-to-1 margin!

For a relatively small per-container fee of $30, just 0.13 percent of the average port container’s worth, port users will help fund programs that reduce pollution and congestion at the ports.

If it’s signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, SB 974 will become a powerful tool to turn back the increased incidences of asthma and other respiratory diseases that accompany portside pollution. As a side benefit, it will help fund measures that will help unravel traffic congestion near ports.

Here’s what Assemblymembers had to say about this vital bill:

Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles): “We have a chance to take a major step to transform the ports in our cities.”

Assemblyman Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar): “We have to find a way to keep these negative impacts from affecting our region…. When you support this bill, you support more money for transportation.”

Assemblyman Kevin DeLeon (D-Los Angeles): “The health care costs [caused by port pollution] are irreparable. Once particulate matter is lodged in your lungs, it can't be dislodged.”

Assemblywoman Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach): “The people in my area really want something done about the way we're suffering.”

Girl Scout Testimony Heightens Outdoor Bill

Girl Scout Jenny Reich, 17, brought grins to the faces of California state senators as she testified today in support of Sierra Club California-sponsored AB 2989 (Fuentes).

Although afraid of heights, Jenny testified, she once climbed Mount Shasta with a group of fellow Girl Scouts. The experience taught her a valuable lesson, she told the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water.

“I was able to make it up the mountain, and that really helped my self-confidence grow,” she said. “I think that all kids ought to have the opportunity to get outdoors like I did.”

Studies show that getting kids outdoors not only helps their self-esteem, it also improves their science test scores. Outdoor activity could be one weapon against the rising rate of youth obesity as well.

Jenny’s enthusiasm for outdoor activity charmed the lawmakers.

“It means a lot when young people come to the Capitol,” said Senator Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, who chairs the committee. “I hope we can find the funding – private or otherwise – to support this bill.”

Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes (pictured with Jenny) worked hard on the bill to guide it through the Assembly. Now, support from the Senate is needed to get the bill to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s desk.

Watch What 'Desperate Housewives' Star Marcia Cross Says About Outdoor Opportunities For Youth (Video)

Learn More About Sierra Club's Efforts to "Build Bridges To The Outdoors"

Your Donation Helps Us Bring California's Youth Into The Outdoors

Waiting Game In Half Moon Bay

You could think of the California Legislature the same way air travelers think of the line in front of the security gate: it's often a matter of "hurry up and wait."

Right now, we're waiting to see what happens now that the Senate Rules Committee on June 24 ordered the withdrawal of Assembly Bill 1991, the ill-planned Half Moon Bay bill. The powerful committee, which basically works to route bills and enforce the Senate's rules, has returned the bill to the Senate Desk - meaning it's essentially not cleared for takeoff.

As currently written, AB 1991 would roll back all environmental laws that apply to coastal wetlands in the Glencree and Beachwood areas of Half Moon Bay, clearing the way for subdivision development. It has its roots in a flawed $18 million settlement between the city and the developers - and would set a bad precedent for the state.

Pulling the bill back to the Rules Committee forces the city to finally realize that it can't just cut a deal with the developer to waive environmental laws and expect the state to go along.

- Paul Mason, Sierra Club California Deputy Director (pictured)


Half Moon Bay's Coastsider website recently wrote an editorial opposing this half-baked idea. Read it here.

Your donation helps us protect California's coasts.

Election Day Full of Wins for Sierra Club California

Low voter turnout did not stand in the way of victory for Sierra Club’s causes and candidates in California’s June 3 primary election.

For the second time in three years, environmental groups joined with our allies to defeat a radical property-owners’ measure that would have harmed our air, water and wildlands, sending Proposition 98 down to defeat. At the same time, voters approved Proposition 99, a sensible measure to protect homes from abuses of government’s eminent domain power.

In legislative primaries up and down the state, candidates with compelling environmental records and platforms triumphed. Sierra Club endorsed nine candidates for state Senate, and all nine won. We endorsed in 31 state Assembly races, and our candidate prevailed in 30 of those.

These victories mean the 2009-10 session of the State Legislature will feature numerous environmental champions. California’s legislative districts are almost all safe for one party or the other, so the primary elections have already determined the next holders of most of these seats.

Former Assemblymember Fran Pavley, author of the two most important global warming laws ever passed in the United States, will return to the Capitol as a senator from the coastal Los Angeles area. Three San Francisco Bay Area Assemblymembers with excellent records – Mark Leno, Mark DeSaulnier and Loni Hancock – will also move to the Senate.

The Assembly freshman class also stars a galaxy of green champions. Winning their primaries with Sierra Club’s endorsement were Waste Board member and former senator Wes Chesbro, Air Resources Board member and San Mateo County Supervisor Jerry Hill (if his current lead holds up), Berkeley environmentalist Nancy Skinner, San Francisco Supervisor Tom Ammiano, Silicon Valley educator Paul Fong, Monterey lawyer Bill Monning, former Congressional staffer Bob Blumenfield in the San Fernando Valley, labor leader John Perez in East Los Angeles, and Long Beach City Councilmember Bonnie Lowenthal.

Halting The Republican Rollback

Sierra Club California responded with outrage today to Senate Republicans’ proposal to delay important measures that will protect California’s air and atmosphere.
Sierra Club California Director Bill Magavern made the following statement:

"Once again, these Senate Republicans are showing why they’re a minority party -- they’re so desperate to please their corporate contributors that they’re trying to roll back vital protections for our air and atmosphere that most Californians strongly support. Their proposal would further delay our state’s achieving healthy air quality by extending deadlines for cleaning up dirty diesel engines. They also propose to delay for a year the implementation of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), even though that law already is driving technological innovation that will fuel California’s economy. Furthermore, we are highly suspicious that when they say 'Streamline the building permitting process,' Republican leaders mean weakening safeguards that protect our quality of life from rampant over-development.

"These same reactionary senators held last year’s budget hostage in a futile attempt to roll back California’s Environmental Quality Act. They are out of touch with the governor and with the voters of all parties, who understand that cleaning up our air and water helps California’s economy."

Sierra Club California calls on both Democratic and Republican elected officials to oppose any proposals to weaken protections for public health and the environment.

Read an April 30 Sacramento Bee story about the Republicans' dangerous budget demands

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Getting Kids Outdoors

A Sierra Club California-sponsored bill would connect at-risk youth with nature by funding healthy, educational outdoor and recreation programs run by schools and community organizations.

Assembly Bill 2989 by Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes passed with strong support in the Assembly’s Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee today. AB 2989 promotes a commitment to physically active lifestyles by creating a permanent program within the Department of Parks and Recreation that would award grants for outdoor education and recreational opportunities for youth.

“It’s all about getting kids outdoors,” said Jim Metropulos, Senior Advocate for Sierra Club California. “Many communities have limited or no access to parks and other safe outdoor recreational opportunities for children to engage in physical activities.”

Rising cases of childhood diabetes and obesity make outdoor recreation and education a health care need.

At-risk children who participated in outdoor education programs upped their science test scores by 27 percent, improved their conflict resolution and problem-solving skills and went back to school with better self-esteem and motivation to learn, according to a 2005 California Department of Education study. Yet, fewer than 15 percent of youth participate in an outdoor education and recreation program. And an even smaller fraction of urban, lower-income or ethnically diverse youth have access to parks, rivers or forests.

Sadly, this year’s bad budget situation makes competition for state funds a tough, uphill hike. Although the measure relies mostly on private donations and funding from the Environmental License Plate Fund, it still faces obstacles getting out of the Assembly.

Tell the California Legislature you think getting kids outside is a worthwhile investment.

Please write, call or fax Assemblyman Mark Leno, who heads the Assembly Appropriations Committee.


Assemblyman Mark Leno
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA
94249-0013
Phone (916) 319-2013
Fax (916) 319-2113

"Green Chemistry Initiative" Should Yield Chemical Safeguards

Today Cal-EPA issued its Green Chemistry Report.
The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Green Chemistry Initiative is a serious effort to address the hazards posed by toxic chemicals. Most Californians would be surprised to find out that our state government has no authority to assure that the goods sold at our local stores are safe for our families. The Green Chemistry Initiative has the potential to fix this problem – but only if it survives intense lobbying by the chemical industry.

Cal-EPA has gone all out to make the process of reforming chemical policy inclusive and interactive. Now that today’s report has laid out the options, the administration must begin the hard work of deciding which alternatives to adopt and which ones to propose in legislation.

The Green Chemistry process should result in major new statutory authority for the state’s experts to protect us from toxins that are currently allowed to contaminate our bodies and our environment. Voluntary measures and recognition of best practices have their place, but the only way to ensure meaningful reductions in human and environmental exposures to harmful chemicals is through enforceable safeguards. Collecting the most comprehensive and current data available is one essential building block of those safeguards.

The Legislature should give DTSC the authority to, if warranted by scientific evidence from the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, ban or restrict the usage of particular chemicals in consumer products. The process could be patterned on the Air Resources Board’s program that has successfully reduced emissions from consumer products.

Cal-EPA’s scientific experts will need to set priorities in addressing hazardous substances, and should start by protecting the most vulnerable people, like children. Our government must ensure that products many infants are exposed to -- from baby bottles to toys to baby food containers -- will be safe for the next generation.

Furthermore, manufacturers of products containing hazardous materials should be held responsible for the safe disposition of those products at the end of their useful lives. The Integrated Waste Management Board should work with the Legislature to require extended producer responsibility for such products, and should exercise that authority by prioritizing consumer products that, when discarded, become hazardous wastes (like mercury-containing thermostats).

Schwarzenegger Proposes to Close 48 State Parks & Cut Lifeguards at 14 State Beaches

Last week Governor Schwarzenegger proposed cutting $13.3 million from the Department of Parks and Recreation general fund budget in 2008-09, in attempt to close the huge $14 billion state deficit. This reduction would mean the closure of 48 state parks out of 278 existing parks and reduce the number of lifeguards at 14 state beaches in Orange, San Diego and Santa Cruz Counties. The department would also eliminate 136 permanent employees that work in the state park system, including park rangers, maintenance workers, scientists and tour guides.

Sierra Club California strongly opposes any effort to close our state parks. These cuts would be devastating to the millions of Californians who rely on their state parks for recreation, educational opportunities and quiet enjoyment of nature.

Shutting down state parks is out of touch with the priorities of Californians. The 48 parks slated for closure represent some of the most significant cultural, historic, and natural resources in the state. State parks slated for closure include Henry Coe near Morgan Hill, Portola Redwoods in San Mateo County, Sutter’s Fort Historic Park in Sacramento, Del Norte Redwoods near the Oregon Border, Pio Pico in Whittier, and Great Valley Grasslands in Merced.

The 14 state beaches that are slated to have lifeguards removed from their shores are some of the most popular state beaches in California. Proposing that California’s state beaches can go through the summer without adequate lifeguard staffing is a dangerous proposal that threatens the health and safety of Californians. Lifeguards would be reduced at Silver Strand State Beach in San Diego, San Clemente State Beach in Orange County, Sunset State Beach south of Santa Cruz and other locations.

Click here for a list of proposed park closures and lifeguard reductions.

We believe that the Governor’s proposal is the wrong way to go about balancing the state’s budget. The total reductions from the state parks budget would only eliminate one-tenth of one percent of the state deficit.

Sierra Club California is contacting legislators and working with them to oppose the closure of any state parks during the budget process. Soon, we will be asking you to contact your legislators and Governor Schwarzenegger to tell them to keep all of California’s state parks open for everyone.

Jim Metropulos
Sierra Club California

State of the State Address Misses Opportunities

While we had hoped that Governor Schwarzenegger would use the State of the State to roll out important new programs regarding green chemistry and better fire planning, the speech was largely devoid of details.

As expected, the Governor led with last Fall’s tragic Southern California wildfires. One of the key lessons from those fires is that we need to get smarter about how and where we build. If local governments continue to approve building projects in areas where the state is expected to provide fire protection, costs and loss of life will continue to increase. Rather than describing a vision of proactive planning to protect lives as well as wildlands, the Governor focused exclusively on thanking the heroes. We join in lauding the Californians who stepped up during the crisis, but we were hoping for more proactive planning to prevent future crises.

Unfortunately, Schwarzenegger continues to push for the building of more expensive dams as a solution to California's water problems. The Governor's insistence on new dams has lead to a stalemate with the Legislature, which favors investments in water conservation, water recycling and groundwater cleanup. We hope that the Governor will work with the Legislature on solutions to our state's water problems that do not involve new dams.

On the bright side, environmentalists are always pleased to hear the Governator repeat his promise to sue the Bush Administration as often as necessary to obtain the waiver necessary for California’s clean-car standards to take effect.

Environmentalists who had heard that new initiatives to address toxins in consumer products or the plastics choking our oceans might appear in the State of the State speech were disappointed, as Schwarzenegger missed an opportunity to put those problems high on his agenda. The Governor did make a general promise to put forward “many” legislative proposals on energy and the environment, but offered no specifics as to what they may be. (During his four-plus years in office, Schwarzenegger has so far made very few legislative proposals of his own, preferring to respond to the bills initiated by legislators.)

The Governor’s proposal for a Strategic Growth Council has the admirable purpose of bringing together his administration’s economic development programs with its environmental sustainability concerns; during this and previous administrations, growth and sustainability have too often been considered in isolation from each other. But the administration needs to provide more details on how this council will allocate bond funds, and needs to make sure that it respects the wishes of the voters who approved the bonds and that it works with the Legislature on appropriating the money.

Vote yes on Prop 93

Sierra Club California has endorsed Proposition 93, the Term Limits and Legislative Reform Act, on the Tue., Feb. 5, ballot.

Prop 93 would allow a legislator to serve up to 12 years in the Senate, the Assembly, or a combination of both. California’s current term limit allows 14 years, but these must be divided into a maximum of six years in the Assembly and eight in the Senate.

Experience

Legislators need time in Sacramento to learn about environmental issues and the legislature's sometimes arcane rules. Today, in the Assembly especially, even committee chairs and top leadership have limited experience. Often they are appointed after only two years in Sacramento; sometimes even brand-new legislators are appointed. Prop 93 will give them more time to gain experience and expertise—essential for dealing with complicated environmental issues with long-term consequences.

Lobbyists

With less turnover of members, there will be fewer of the novice legislators most vulnerable to industry lobbyists’ false arguments and lies. Consider the history of global-warming legislation. In 2002, first-term Assemblymember Fran Pavley authored California’s first important global-warming law, AB 1493, the clean-cars bill. In 2006, in her final term, Pavley authored her landmark AB 32, but only a small minority of the assemblymembers serving then had been in the legislature in 2002. This year, when Assemblymember Ruskin’s clean-car-discount bill, AB 493, lost on the floor, not a single member had been in the Assembly in 2002, and many members bought some of the same bogus arguments the auto industry had made in 2002.

Oversight

Committees chaired by experienced lawmakers will be better able to oversee state agencies and bureaucrats. With more time to serve in one house, legislators can gain knowledge of the inner workings of agencies. We need lawmakers with the institutional memory to follow the implementation of environmental laws by state agencies. Consider again AB 32. Like many bills, this requires state agencies to undertake a complex process of decisions on how to carry it out. Largely due to today's term limits, Fran Pavley is no longer in the legislature to help watch over the implementation of her landmark bill.

Money

Under the current limits, once members are elected to the Assembly and come to Sacramento, they immediately start to eye their next elective office. With the possibility of 12-year careers in the Assembly, they will feel less need to raise money--and therefore less reliance on special interests. They will be able to devote more time to governing and policy-making. Prop 93 could also slow the revolving door that sends many former members into lobbying jobs–usually for industry, since public-interest jobs mean a big pay cut.
The Sierra Club urges you to vote yes on Prop 93--to bring more experienced legislators to Sacramento.

2007 Legislative Session Wraps Up With Some Progress On Energy, Air And Flood Protection, But Puts Off Important Work On Land Use, Ports And Toxics

The California Legislature has sent to the Governor some important bills to make our buildings and fuels greener, save condors and guard against floods, but deferred until next year the vital tasks of spurring smart growth, requiring utilities to generate more power from renewables, reducing toxic chemical hazards and cleaning up the filthy air at the mega-ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland.

Bright spots of the 2007 session for the environmental cause included:

• Cleaner Fuels: SB 210 (Kehoe) would require the adoption of a low-carbon fuel standard by 2010 that achieves at least a 10 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and maintains or improves upon air quality benefits gained by current gasoline and diesel fuel standards; AB 118 (Núñez) would raise about $150 million annually for clean fuel and clean air programs.

• Greener Buildings: AB 888 (Lieu) would set green building standards for commercial buildings, starting in 2013. AB 1058 (Laird) would set green building standards for new residential construction. AB 35 (Ruskin) would require CAL-EPA to set sustainable building standards for the construction and renovation of state buildings. AB 1109 (Huffman) would require the adoption of energy efficiency standards for all general purpose lights.

• Flood Protection: SB 5 (Machado) would require the state to prepare a Central Valley Flood Protection Plan by 2012. AB 5 (Wolk) would reform, restructure and rename the state Reclamation Board, which is the agency in charge of flood protection in the Central Valley. AB 70 (Jones) would provide for limited shared contribution between the state and local governments when local governments approve new developments in previously undeveloped areas, and thereby increase property damages resulting from a flood for which the state is liable.

• Clean Air: The Healthy Heart and Lung Act, AB 233 (Jones), sponsored by Sierra Club California and American Lung Association of California, would improve enforcement of rules that limit toxic diesel emissions; SB 719 (Machado) would reform the San Joaquin Valley’s lackluster Air Pollution Control District by adding expertise and urban representation.

• Endangered Species: The endangered California Condor is suffering from lead poisoning, because the birds eat bullet fragments when scavenging carcasses. AB 821 (Nava) would require the use of non-lead bullets when hunting big game within the range of the condor.

We are now asking Governor Schwarzenegger to sign these and other green bills. He has until October 14 to sign or veto the measures on his desk.

Sierra Club California and our allies had pushed the Legislature to act in other vital areas, but many key bills stalled toward the end of session due to opposition from powerful special interests. SB 974 (Lowenthal), the Clean Ports bill, was deferred until January at the request of Governor Schwarzenegger. Both SB 375 (Steinberg), which seeks to reduce vehicular emissions through smarter land use patterns, and SB 411 (Simitian), which would require utilities to generate 33% of their power from renewable sources, failed to clear the Assembly Appropriations Committee, and AB 558 (Feuer), which would have generated information on the use of toxic chemicals, died by a close vote of the Senate Appropriations panel. The Legislature’s failure to pass these important bills leaves substantial unfinished business to be taken up next year.

Arnold and the Republicans

We're rapidly reaching the end of this year's legislative session, expected to end next Tuesday. This is the time of year when things are happening fast and loose in the Capitol, with last minute hearings being called "off the Floor," meaning that there is no advance notice of hearings. This is the time when you simply have to be in the Capitol to keep on top of these last minute actions. So, we'll be pretty busy between now and Tuesday night.

We'll blog more on the last minute actions at the Capitol when we get a minute, but in the meantime, you may enjoy today's column from Bill Bradley's New West Notes blog where he discusses the schism between Governor Schwarzenegger and the increasingly isolated and insular Republican party. Enjoy.

Positively Environmental

For more than 5 years, my high school and college experiences had led me to believe it would be a constant uphill battle to change other’s views and practices to sustain the environment, but participating in Lobby Day 2007 as a student intern for Sierra Club California has finally altered that discouraging view to pure positivism.

The life of a conservationist is difficult to lead as a positivist when the only thing you seem to say to others is “Stop!” Sierra Club California’s annual Lobby Day, which occurred August 27, 2007, attracted over 50 Sierra Club members. That day, for the first time, I saw and participated in environmental conservation that is positive and says to others “Keep Going!” The 52 Sierra Club members, grouped geographically, advanced upon the State Capital to “lobby” by themselves and directly impress upon their local Senators and Assemblymembers the importance of voting “yes” on four bills important to furthering smart growth and air quality in California.

Two factors from Lobby Day were extremely important in altering my prior negative views. The first is that I am not alone, there are at least 52 Sierra Club members dedicated enough to the environment to travel to Sacramento and prove there are real people who the professional staff lobbyists represent. Second is that all four bills are themselves positive in that they create new ways to conserve instead of negatively demanding industries to stop. In the case of Lobby Day, I was allowed to watch first-hand everyday conservationists asking those in power to continue on the path of sustainability, and was delightfully surprised at the increasingly positive responses from legislators. By prompting legislators positively to “keep going!” and provide more alternatives for environmental change in California the Sierra Club members proved to me the answer to conservation has to move past just the negative approach of telling others to “stop!”

A Sierra Club lobbyist said to me once “a positive environmentalist is often an oxymoron because there is always another negative environmental battle ahead to fight;” this common thought was altered too on Lobby Day at the ceremony in the State Capitol honoring Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez. Núñez was awarded the National Sierra Club’s sole Distinguished Achievement Award for 2007 for his work leading to the passage of the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, AB 32. This ceremony was an unusual gem in conservation history because it was a celebration of what has already been achieved and what there is to look forward to. Much of environmentalism looks at what must be done next but awarding Núñez for his work gave me the opportunity to think about what the politician, the Sierra Club lobbyists, the Sierra Club members and I have been doing in our lives. What I found through Lobby Day and the individuals involved is that there is no need to be discouraged because every singular person convinced to conserve, and every singular action conserving the precious environment, is one less battle to fight, and that is a positive thought.

Abigail May
Sierra Club California Intern

Gang of 14 Keep Moving the Goal Post on California’s Budget

In what has become the signature negotiating style of the ‘Gang of 14’ – the Senate Republicans blocking approval of the State budget – the Gang members added a new non-budget demand last night (after earlier indications that they had reached agreement). In addition to seeking to block the use of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) to mitigate global warming pollution, they now want additional language to eliminate environmental review of levee repair projects.

Holding out the approval of the budget based on these non-budget demands is just wrong. And continually adding new demands, months after the budget should have been completed, makes it impossible to reach closure on the budget.

Their most recent demand is to eliminate environmental review for levee repair projects, which is particularly ironic given that legislation signed by the Governor last year, AB 1039 (Nunez) already exempts levee repairs from CEQA, provided that the repairs are on the same footprint as the existing levee.

The Democratic Leadership is caught between a rock and a hard place – the budget needs to get approved so that the most vulnerable among us don’t suffer undue hardships, but Senator Perata et. al. need to deal with a Republican Caucus in the Senate which has handed the keys to the most extreme, recalcitrant aspects of their party.

We continue to urge Senator Perata to resist the Gang of 14’s demands for additional rollbacks of environmental protections. These demands have no place in the budget debate, especially at this late date. We hope that at least one member of the Gang of 14 comes to their senses, and decides to put the good of Californians before the desires of their campaign contributors and party zealots.