The Newspaper of the San Francisco Bay Chapter
Jan - Feb 2006
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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A mediocre year in Sacramento
Sierra Club California in 2005 once again blocked all significant attacks on the laws that protect and restore California's environment, but polluter influence and special-election politics spelled death for most major proposals to clean up our air and water, manage growth wisely, and preserve wild places.
Republicans and "business Democrats" in the Assembly almost always sided with the polluters during the legislative session. On a report card of 10 of Sierra Club California's highest-priority bills in the Assembly, 21 Republicans earned a perfectly dismal score of zero, and none voted for more than three. In contrast, 23 Democrats voted for all 10 of these bills, but the "Polluter Democrats", despite surveys consistently showing overwhelming public support for stronger safeguards for our air and water, had scores ranging just from 20 - 50%. The Polluter Dems wield such influence that many good bills are never even brought up for a floor vote. Two Bay Chapter assemblymembers are among these business Democrats: Joe Canciamilla (Pinole to Antioch) - 40% and Alberto Torrico (Pleasanton-Fremont- Santa Clara) - 50%. All the rest of the Chapter's assemblymembers scored 100%.
Because of the impending special election, an undercurrent of party politics also hindered some legislation.
Corporate lobbies and their legislative allies killed a number of common-sense bills to clean up our air and water. A major casualty was the solar-roofs legislation (SB 1 by Sen. Murray). This was the centerpiece of the governor's environmental agenda, and it fell victim to partisan politics and broken-down negotiations. We certainly hope the Democratic leaders and the governor work this one out and come back next year with a bill that makes sense and gets California further along the renewables path.
The legislature did succeed in passing a handful of bills in early September to help protect the health of Californians from industrial poisons, but Gov. Schwarzenegger, who also receives large contributions from corporate polluters, finished the work of the Assembly Republicans and polluter Democrats by vetoing a number of them, including the two most significant, which would have strengthened enforcement of existing pesticide-safety laws and tracked environmental pollutants found in the bodies of state residents. The governor also vetoed bills to improve water-resource planning and fund mitigation of toxic runoff. He did sign six of our top 10 bills, and of the 43 bills we wrote letters on, he took the action we suggested (either sign or veto) 56% of the time. While this is vastly better than his Republican colleagues in the legislature, this self-proclaimed environmentalist has room for improvement. Our hope is that since 2006 is a gubernatorial election year, it will push him to higher levels.
The most important measures that became law this year include:
- a Sierra Club sponsored ban on toxic mercury in switches, relays, and measuring devices;
- a long-sought requirement that Caltrans use much higher percentages of recycled tires in its paving projects;
- wild-and-scenic designation for Cache Creek; and
- a ban on using experimental pesticides in public schools.
The disappointing output of environmental measures in the Assembly came despite the best efforts of the Democratic leadership and environmental champions like John Laird, Fran Pavley, and Hector De La Torre, who worked tirelessly to pass measures to improve environmental health and environmental justice in California.
The Senate Democrats, under the leadership of president pro tem Don Perata and key committee chairs Sheila Kuehl and Alan Lowenthal, continued their excellent record of standing up for California's air, water, and wild places. The Senate also superbly carried out its role in the confirmation process, rejecting a handful of Schwarzenegger's anti-environmental appointees, while confirming appointees who appear qualified to fulfill their agencies' missions of stewardship.
Much of the work of Sierra Club California's team goes into defeating the bad bills that would take us backward instead of forward. This year we succeeded on virtually every proposal that we opposed, either stopping it or amending it into an acceptable form. For example, an attempt by big agribusiness to pre-empt local governments' restrictions on genetically modified food never passed out of its first committee. Likewise, a proposal to exempt the military from safeguards for the toxic contaminant perchlorate died at the starting gate after we opposed it. Perhaps most importantly, the work of our staff helped stop the Schwarzenegger administration from submitting legislation that would have seriously undermined the California Environmental Quality Act.
About 30 Club members came to our annual Lobby Day in August, and worked the halls of the Capitol with our lobbying team. Once again they had a rewarding time, helped us push key legislation, and saw firsthand how things work here. While it can be a bit discouraging at times, they came away with a greater appreciation of what your Sierra Club California staff is both up against and capable of.
© San Francisco Sierra Club Yodeler