PCL Insider: News from the Capitol

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: THE SUSPENSE IS KILLING AB 224

Please excuse our tardiness in getting this update out.  PCL has been in triage mode since late yesterday afternoon trying to keep one of our most important environmental bills alive. AB 224 (Wolk) – a PCL sponsored bill dealing with water planning and global warming – was held in a key committee yesterday. 

We sent out an action alert last evening. If you have not already done so, please take a moment now to help save this bill.

So, what happened yesterday? Yesterday was Judgment Day for all environmental bills that the California Legislature deemed to be "fiscally significant," which included most of our bills.

To ensure that the leadership in each house has a full understanding of the costs and benefits of the suite of bills being considered each year, all bills that would cost the state at least $150 million are placed on the Suspense File of each house's Appropriation Committee. If a bill that is "on suspense" is considered a top priority (worth the investment, in other words), it's sent along to the house floor for a vote. If not, it stays behind.

This last committee decision always seems to be most significant - and difficult to predict - because all the bills under consideration are in their "second house;" that is, all the Assembly bills are in the Senate and visa versa. 

Yesterday, both Appropriations committees met to decide the fate of the bills on their Suspense Files.

The Senate decided to hold AB 224 (Wolk) which effectively means it was killed in the committee. This is particularly disappointing because AB 224 had no opposition and is simply good policy. AB 224 would ensure that water agencies across the state are prepared to adapt to climate change and that they have the information necessary to reduce their greenhouse emissions.

It's critical to move this bill this year. If AB 224 is held, we will miss the opportunity to incorporate climate change into the 2009 DWR Delivery Reliability Report, and the 2010 Urban Water Management Plans. This will mean that climate change will not be addressed in many water plans until 2015.

While the bill didn't pass out of the Senate Appropriations Committee, there's still an opportunity for Senate leadership to make a different decision. Again, if you have not yet asked the Senate Leadership to move this bill, please call now.

We are also very disappointed to report that SB 375 (Steinberg), another top environmental priority bill, did not move on to the Assembly Floor. This measure, which seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging more compact development when cities and counties update their General Plans, must now wait until next year to be re-considered. That's too long to wait when California is already racing to achieve the emission reduction mandate of AB 32 – the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. If this measure is indeed done for the year (and we say if because it ain't over till it's over!), you can count on PCL to continue our efforts to build support for SB 375 and help push it over the finish line next year.
 
We're pleased to report that most of our other top bills (including those we've been highlighting in the Insider) emerged from the Suspense Files today relatively unscathed, including: 

AB 5 and AB 162 (Wolk) – Land Use and Flood Protection
AB 609 (Eng) – Green Buildings
AB 514 and AB 515 (Lieber) – Toxics
AB 558 (Feuer) – Green Chemistry
SB 210 (Kehoe) – Low Carbon Fuels Standard
SB 974 (Lowenthal) – Clean Ports Investment Bill

SB 719 (Machado) – San Joaquin Valley Air District Reform and AB 1108 (Ma) – Toxic Toys, were not on the suspense files because they did not meet the cost threshold.

The full membership of each house will now consider all of the measures which passed off the suspense file yesterday. If your legislator happens to be a swing vote on any of these bills, you'll get an email from us asking you to call them right away.  We'll keep you posted!

FLOOD POLICY IS LIKE...GYMNASTICS?

Thanks to all the PCL Insider readers who joined us for an update on state flood policy negotiations and potential sticking points in the different bills during our first ever PCL Insider Membership Conference Call last Monday! 

For those of you who missed the call, negotiations are in full gear, primarily concerning the interim land use measures which would be put in place until a flood control plan for the Central Valley is completed in 2012.  (These discussions principally affect AB 5 and SB 5.)

PCL staff member Jonas Minton is playing a key role in these negotiations. As we discussed in last week's Insider, he is seeking to ensure that new flood policy incorporates wise land use into the flood control plan and provides complementary benefits to both public safety and the environment. 

Part VII: Nail-biting...

Tracking the flood negotiations right now feels like judging a complicated gymnastics routine on the balance beam. With each move, we can't help but hold our breath until the gymnasts land safely.  And we know that we won't be able to breathe easy until Senator Steinberg and the other flood bill authors finish their routine (i.e. release the negotiated package of flood legislation). 

Among other crucial aspects of the package, we're focused on bill language that requires the adoption of flood control measures that also provide ecosystem benefits. This specifically includes:

Setback levees – These levees preserve land that can be used as a floodway during strong storms to relieve flood pressure from existing urban areas, and provide habitat for wildlife during non-flood events.

Flood bypasses – These areas preserve land that can be used as a floodway to relieve flood pressure from existing urban areas. Because bypasses can be quite large, during non-flood events the bypass is managed for agriculture and/or habitat for wildlife.

Are you sensing a theme, here? (Relieving flood pressure = Win-Win.)

Glancing back at the balance beam, we see that Jonas is spotting as best he can. We're all chewing our fingernails down to the quick, hoping that these legislative gymnasts dismount with grace and ease.

Next week: The debut of the consensus flood package...how does it score? We hope we can report that the package deserves a perfect 10. Stay tuned!

HOEDOWN FOR WILDLIFE: PCL INVITES INSIDER READERS TO FARM BILL SUMMIT

The Planning and Conservation League and National Wildlife Federation are hosting a Regional Farm Bill Summit and we encourage you to attend to learn about the opportunities for conservation on the Bill. This free event is on Wednesday, September 12 in Sacramento. To learn more, visit our website or to register send us an email.

Why You Should Attend:
If you ask most folks to list the country’s important laws for fish and wildlife, they probably would not mention the Farm Bill. Similarly, they might not think of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers Farm Bill programs, as a powerhouse of conservation.

However, the past three Farm Bills have shaped more conservation programs for a longer period of time – and put more funding behind those programs – than any other suite of legislation. In fact, during that time the USDA spent more than $5 billion on conservation each year, two-and-a-half times more than the entire U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service budget.

Congress is currently debating the contents of the 2007 Farm Bill. Once again, they have the opportunity to implement and fund a number of great wildlife conservation programs. Here are just two of the recommendations the National Wildlife Federation and more than 40 national hunting, fishing and conservation organizations support as top priorities for the 2007 Farm Bill:

• Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP) – Increase the WRP, America's number one wetlands restoration program, to 300,000 acres per year to improve wetlands conservation, mitigate wetlands loss, provide migratory bird and fisheries habitat, and improve water quality.
• Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP) – Gradually increase the WHIP funding from $100 million to $300 million over the course of the 2007 Farm Bill with a significant portion of new funds targeted for aquatic restoration activities, including in-stream habitat improvement projects. Enhance conservation partnerships and program benefits by incorporating the assistance of states, municipalities, and non-government organizations to deliver and manage WHIP.

We still have a chance to influence the outcome of the 2007 Farm Bill. Find out how to make the Farm Bill work for you and the issues you care about, by attending our upcoming Farm Bill Summit!

A GARY PATTON MOVIE REVIEW – 11TH HOUR

The next "must see" environmental movie, after the release of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" last year, will surely be Leonardo DiCaprio's "11th Hour," a film that is probably opening this weekend in a theatre near you. My "all thumbs up" review recommends that you take your family, friends, other loved ones – and even strangers – and get you to a theater!

PCL staff members were able to preview the 11th Hour this past Tuesday evening, at an advance screening sponsored by Global Green and Senate President pro Tem Don Perata. Invitations were extended both to legislators and to environmental lobbyists, and the screening was followed by a question and answer period with producer Brian Gerber, and with Tim Carmichael, Senior Policy Director of the Clean Air Coalition, who appears in the film.

As you can probably tell, I was very much affected by the 11th Hour, and do recommend that you promptly make arrangements to see it. As Tim Carmichael said, you may need to see it more than once. The film is aiming to be a life-changing experience. It just might do that for you!

You can get more information on the 11th Hour at at www.11thhouraction.com and www.11thhourfilm.com.                         

 – Gary Patton, PCL Executive Director