Governor Brown this morning issued an executive order establishing a greenhouse gas reduction target of 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. This is – by a good measure – the most ambitious greenhouse gas reduction plan in the United States. From AP:
"’With this order, California sets a very high bar for itself and other states and nations, but it's one that must be reached — for this generation and generations to come,’ Brown said in a statement…
“Brown said climate change would factor into government planning and he ordered state agencies and departments to implement measures to reduce emissions. Brown called for an update to the Safeguarding California Plan — the state climate adaption strategy — to identify how climate change will affect infrastructure and industry and what actions California can take to reduce the risks of climate change.”
Brown’s move follows yesterday’s announcement in which he proposed fines of up to $10K for extreme water wasters. From David Siders at the Sacramento Bee:
“Brown said fines of as much as $10,000 would be reserved for the ‘worst offenders,’ a dramatic increase from the current $500 daily maximum fine.
“The governor’s office said legislation proposed by Brown would let public agencies deputize staff to issue water-related citations, among other measures.
“’You might think of this as just another installment in a long enterprise to live with a changing climate and with a drought of uncertain duration,’ Brown said.”
SB 277, the bill to mandate vaccinations for most California schoolchildren sailed through the Senate Judiciary Committee with little of the drama that marked its appearance before the Education Committee last week. Jeremy White, Sacramento Bee:
“The Senate Judiciary Committee passed Senate Bill 277 on a 5-1 vote and sent the legislation to the Senate Appropriations Committee, its last stop before a potential Senate floor vote, after which it would proceed to the Assembly…
“While opponents of SB 277 again packed the hearing room and jammed Capitol corridors Tuesday, the bill enjoyed a smoother passage through the judiciary committee. Every Democrat on the panel had either signed on as a co-sponsor or voted in favor before the bill came before the committee on Tuesday.”
While there was little furor inside the chamber, anti-vaccine activists drew the ire of many in the close-knit capitol community for posting stalking photos of lobbyist Jodi Hicks on Twitter.
Note to anti-vaxxers: maybe doing stuff like this doesn’t help your efforts not to seem batshit crazy.
The prospects for legalized online poker in California advanced Monday as AB 431, a bill by Adam Gray (D-Merced) cleared the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee – the first such legislation to make it out of committee. Samantha Gallegos has the story at Capitol Weekly:
“The committee’s approval of Gray bill moves the measure forward as negotiations continue.
“’[It] is important to have a vehicle for the discussion and the work moving forward this year,’ committee member Assemblymember Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, said. ‘As we all know, this will be probably the monumental issue that this committee will deal with this year and it’s sure to have tremendous impacts for California. We want to make sure that it’s done right. ‘”
This would be a good time to note that Capitol Weekly and UC are hosting a conference on the topic – California Gaming – on May 21 in Sacramento.
Competing bills that would regulate medical marijuana have advanced through the Assembly Business and Professions Committee. Now, lawmakers say the ideas in the two bills need to be combined. Patrick McGreevy at the Los Angeles Times:
“The Assembly Business and Professions Committee approved AB 34 by Democratic Assemblymen Rob Bonta of Alameda and Reginald Jones-Sawyer of Los Angeles, which would have pot dispensaries regulated by the state Department of Alcohol Beverage Control, while growers would be overseen by the state Department of Food and Agriculture.
“That measure was opposed by the League of California Cities and the California Police Chiefs Assn. because it gives the state primary responsibility for regulating and enforcing rules on the medical marijuana industry. The bill was opposed by Republican members who said they sympathized with the concerns of cities and law enforcement.
“The cities and police chiefs support a separate bill approved by the committee, AB 266, by Assemblyman Ken Cooley (D-Rancho Cordova), under which the state Department of Consumer Affairs would issue initial licenses to sellers and growers, while the authority to grant final, operational licenses would reside with cities and counties, which would also have the power to shut down businesses that violate the rules.”
Silicon Valley venture capitalist Tim Draper may have failed in his quest to section California into six states, but that hasn’t dampened his enthusiasm for ‘fixing’ the state. To that end, Draper has launched the Fix California Challenge, a website that matches good ideas with the donors to fund them. From John Myers at KQED:
“The website pretty much works like this: You submit an idea, be it a ballot initiative or a nonprofit to help government run better, and then you wait to see if a venture capitalist will come forward and fund it. Draper says that he has a few wealthy backers ready to participate, and that one of those potential funders may be him.
“’It could be a number of different things,’ he said, about what kinds of government reform ideas could be chosen.
“Draper plans to take it even further: He is mulling a kind of contest, inspired by the reality entrepreneur TV show ‘Shark Tank,’ where Californians with a ballot initiative idea would vie for the chance to have that proposal be funded by … well, him.”
"Kevin McCarthy rewards son for doing homework with White House invite."
Hard to believe, but no, that’s not an Onion headline. From Judy Kurtz at The Hill:
“It pays to do your homework if you’re Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s kid. The son of the California Republican snagged an invite to Tuesday’s Japan state dinner at the White House with his dad thanks to his studious ways.
"’I took him to dinner last night and I said, “I have this thing at the White House, do you want to go?” "’McCarthy told ITK of inviting son Connor, a junior at Georgetown University, to the very-VIP dinner.
“’This is his last week of finals,’ the House Majority Leader explained, ‘I wanted to make sure he had [done] all his homework.’…
“Connor said his sister, a high school senior, would likely be jealous to learn that he’d be accompanying his dad to the White House, saying to laughs, ‘Uh, yeah. Don’t tell her.’”