PCL Insider: News from the Capitol

ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO: ENVIRONMENTAL BILLS (MOSTLY) SURVIVE MAJOR LEGISLATIVE HURDLE

Last Friday was the deadline for all bills, including key environmental bills that would protect our air, water, land, and quality of life, to pass out of their House of Origin. 

For PCL and other environmental groups lobbying in Sacramento, the week passed in a blur of extra-long hours, dashes down the Capitol halls to follow many different bills simultaneously, racking our brains to get those last votes over and over again, and a bitter dose of "hurry up and wait." 

But our efforts paid off, mostly.  Of the twenty-three bills identified as top priorities by the environmental community, all but two won enough votes to move to their second house. (21 out of 23 isn't such a bad batting average!)

Each of PCL's sponsored bills that made it to the Assembly floor passed to the next house, though not all in their original form. (One bill has yet to reach the Assembly floor and has therefore become a "two year bill," facing a different set of legislative deadlines.)

Here are some highlights and lowlights from last week's madness:

AB 5 (Wolk) – One of the key bills to address flood management in the Legislature this year, AB 5 would require the State to adopt a comprehensive flood control plan that establishes flood protection standards, addresses emergency response, encourages projects to protect lives and improve the environment, and addresses long-term funding needs.  AB 5 would also ensure that new developments in flood-prone areas have adequate flood protection before lives and property are placed at risk.

We raised the alarm about AB 5 in a PCL Action Alert last Tuesday and heard from inside sources that your calls made a noticeable difference in the final vote. The bill passed off the Assembly floor after a full court press by PCL membership, staff, and board members, as well as the incredible help of the California League of Conservation Voters. Though Assemblymember Wolk had to amend her bill on the floor to help pull in those last votes, we expect a final legislative flood package to be ironed out in the months ahead.  We'll need your continued support as AB 5 moves through the Senate so stay tuned!

SB 974 (Lowenthal) – One of the top air quality bills of the year, SB 974 would invest in air quality programs and infrastructure improvements at the ports of Oakland, L.A. and Long Beach by collecting $30 from each cargo container processed at the ports.

Despite intense lobbying by retailers, agribusinesses, and the state Chamber of Commerce, SB 974 made it off the Senate floor. It even picked up new support from Senator Margett, a Republican from Glendora, and Senator Negrete McLeod, a Democrat from Chino, both of whom did not support this policy in 2006.

AB 1108 (Ma) – Assemblymember Ma's bill would prohibit the use of toxic materials called phthalates in children's toys. These hard-to-prounounce toxics ("THAL-ates" if you're really interested) are used in a variety of children's products including soft plastic toys and teethers and have been linked to developmental problems such as premature breast development in girls, male genital defects, and reduced sperm quality.

The bill was initially brought up for a vote two weeks ago, but failed passage with only thirty-six votes.  After much heavy lifting – particularly by the bill's sponsors, Environment California – the environmental community managed to pull together the bare minimum forty-one supportive votes.  Thanks to Assemblymembers Carter, Davis, Hernandez, Richardson, and Solario for switching from "Not Voting" to "Aye." 

AB 493 (Ruskin) – We were hardest hit by the loss of Assemblymember Ira Ruskin's Clean Car Discount Program, which would have helped encourage both the purchase of cleaner cars in California and the production of cleaner cars in Detroit. 

Despite the efforts of AB 493's sponsor, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and many other organizations, this critical measure did not receive enough votes to pass off the Assembly floor. It is now a "two year bill" and must pass out of the Assembly by the end of January 2008. Get ready; we have eight months to raise more support and convince those last skeptical lawmakers to get serious about reducing greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles in California.

Next up, our twenty-one surviving top-priority measures and many other important environmental bills face a “Friday the 13th” committee hearing deadline in July. If we can continue with our “21 out of 23” success rate, 2007 will be another banner year for environmental legislation in California!