UPDATES ON ENVIRONMENTAL POLITICS IN CALIFORNIA

SIERRA CLUB CALIFORNIA'S PRIORITY BILLS FOR 2009

SUPPORT

Conserving Water through Metering for Water Corporations. AB 975 (Fong) would require water corporations with more than 500 service connections to install water meters on unmetered connections by 2020 and require water billing to be based on meter readings and actual volume of water used. Passed Assembly 54-24.

Making Carbon Reductions Real and Fair. AB 1404 (de Leon) would protect communities from air pollution and global warming by placing sensible limits on the use of greenhouse gas offsets. Passed Assembly 45-30.

Protecting Parks. SB 372(Kehoe) would require that alterations or modifications that are inconsistent with state parks be permitted only upon an act of the Legislature, preceded by a recommendation from the state Park and Recreation Commission. Passed Senate 21-16.

SB 679 (Wolk) would prohibit the disposition of state park lands unless approved by the Legislature and only if appropriate substitute lands are provided. Passed Senate 22-15.

Ending Hidden Vehicle Subsidies.  SB 728 (Lowenthal) would authorize the imposition of penalties if an employer is not in compliance with a parking cash-out program in a nonattainment air basin. Passed Senate 21-16.

Promoting Resilient Habitats.   SB 144 (Pavley) would direct CalFire to establish regional and state level baseline estimates of the amount of carbon stored in California’s forests.  It also would authorize development of incentives for conservation of non-federal forestlands as well as require the mitigation of  any loss of carbon storage when forestland is converted to other uses.  Passed Senate 21-17.

Protecting Wildlife. SB 670 (Wiggins) would impose a moratorium on new suction dredging permits until the ongoing environmental review is certified. Passed Senate 31-8.

SUPPORT IF AMENDED

Clean Energy Buy-Back.  AB 1106 (Fuentes) would require the California Public Utilities Commission to develop a feed-in tariff for eligible renewable electric generation that is less than 20 MW in size. Passed Assembly 50-26.

Ramping Up Renewable Energy.  SB 14 (Simitian) and AB 64 (Krekorian) would both raise California's Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) goal to 33 percent by 2020 and revise California’s existing RPS program. SB 14 Passed Senate 21-16, AB 64 Passed Assembly 44-31.

OPPOSE

Exacerbating Problems with Logging Rules.  AB 1066 (Mendoza) would increase the harvest period under a Timber Harvest Plan from the current 3 years to 5 years (with an additional 2 years in extensions for a total of 7 years) which would compound THP impacts and difficulties in analyzing cumulative impacts. Passed Assembly 53-12.

SIERRA CLUB CALIFORNIA’S PRIORITY ISSUES FOR 2009

1. Fighting Global Warming, Generating Clean Energy and Stimulating Green Jobs  

Both President Obama and Governor Schwarzenegger have recognized the importance of curbing climate change and the potential for energy efficiency and renewable energy to create green jobs while reducing pollution. Sierra Club California is working with the Legislature, Governor and Air Resources Board to speed our state’s transition to a green economy that sustains both jobs and our atmosphere.
We can make nation-leading progress this year by:

• Raising the Renewables Portfolio Standard to 33% or higher by 2020, with policy reforms to improve implementation.
• Requiring major polluters to pay for their greenhouse gas emissions, with revenues used to benefit clean energy, public transit, preparedness, green jobs and low-income consumers.
• Protecting community health while we address global warming by including strong smart growth measures and safeguards against “hot spots” of local pollution, and limiting loopholes like excessive offsets.

2. Safeguarding Our Water Supply

California’s current water policies are failing to provide our people, our economy, and our environment with adequate supplies of clean, affordable water.  We must respect, and adjust to meet, the natural limits on our waters and waterways –  including limits posed by climate change.

To that end, Sierra Club California is seeking to:    

• Promote statewide water conservation and efficiency, including enacting into law requirements for water metering and a 20% reduction in per capita water use statewide by 2020.
• Advance a comprehensive solution to the problems of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that restores the Delta ecosystem while providing a reliable water supply for the state.
• Build best management practices for urban water agencies by revising existing BMPs for water loss detection, and developing new BMPs for water recycling.

3. Protecting Californians from Toxic Threats

Bipartisan 2008 legislation gives the Department of Toxic Substances Control the authority to ensure that consumer products sold in California are safe for our families and our environment. These include toys, linens, shampoo, and materials used to package food.         

We are building on that breakthrough by working with DTSC to put its new regulatory framework in place and to implement additional measures that promote greener chemistry.

4.   Preserving Our Natural Heritage

As California’s wild salmon teeter on the brink of extinction, we continue to push the Board of Forestry to fix the flawed logging rules that are destroying salmon habitat..               

And we are advocating in the Legislature to ensure that California’s beautiful coast, ocean, desert, and parks are protected, and that our diverse (but diminishing) species and habitats are safeguarded from such disparate threats as off-shore oil drilling, poorly planned development and global warming.

 

Legislation Sent to the Governor's Desk in 2008

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger just signed a Sierra Club California priority bill to reduce toxics in products. Click the picture to view the historic event.

SB 974 (Lowenthal) – Would have mitigated air pollution from the ports and increase port efficiency by assessing a fee for each container moving through the ports or Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland. Vetoed Sept. 30.

SB 1113 (Migden) – Would have restored a court’s authority to, upon motion, award attorney’s fees and costs to a successful party against one or more opposing parties in any action that has resulted in the enforcement of an important right affecting the public interest. Vetoed Sept. 30.

SB 1313 (Corbett) – Would have banned greaseproof coatings chemicals known as perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluoroctanoic acid in food packaging, beginning in 2010. Vetoed Sept. 29.

AB 1879 (Feuer/Huffman) – Gives the Department of Toxic Substances Control landmark new authority to establish safeguards to protect people and the environment from consumer products containing known toxins like lead, mercury and arsenic. Signed Sept. 29.

AB 2347 (Ruskin) – Establishes a producer responsibility program for recycling of mercury thermostats. Signed Sept. 29.

AB 2447 (Jones) – Would have ensured that new homes have adequate structural fire protection, without leaving that responsibility to CalFire and the state’s general fund. Vetoed Sept. 30.

AB 2923 (Evans) – Would have asked the Secretary of Resources and State Lands Commission to make wilderness recommendations for state-owned roadless areas that have not been considered for wilderness protection.  Vetoed, Sept. 27.

AB 2945 (Laird) – Amends the California Wilderness Act to authorize temporary roads and motorized equipment within a wilderness area when necessary in an emergency or if it is the minimum tool necessary to meet minimum management requirements. Also would add Limekiln State Wilderness to the list of designated state wilderness areas. Signed Sept. 30.

AB 2275 (Fuentes) – Would have required businesses licensed to bottle water or sell water from a private water source (a primary supply of water for bottling) to report annually the total volume of water bottled or sold, the source of the water, and the county in which the source is located. Vetoed, Sept. 27.

Sierra Club California urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to veto one bill:

SB 1473 (Calderon) - Gives inappropriately broad authority to the Building Standards Commission (BSC) to develop and adopt the California Green Building Standards Code (CGBSC). This authority would allow the BSC to exclude expert state agencies such as the California Energy Commission, Cal-EPA, State Water Board, Air Resources Board, and Integrated Waste Management Board, which are already working on various aspects of green building. Signed Sept. 30.