In a blow to environmentalists, SB32, a major piece of legislation targeting climate change, was removed from consideration Thursday. The bill had been seen as a companion to SB350, which was significantly amended (read: watered down) Wednesday to abrogate opposition from the oil industry. The bill’s author, Sen. Fran Pavley (D-Agoura Hills) vowed to bring the bill back next year. Patrick McGreevy and Melanie Mason, Los Angeles Times:
“Legislation to put into law executive orders on long-term targets for reducing carbon emissions was pulled from consideration. It had failed to win enough support from lawmakers and faced objections from the governor's office…
“Pavley tried to overcome opposition to her measure by changing it to provide more legislative oversight of the state's powerful Air Resources Board, which has become a sticking point in climate-related negotiations with lawmakers. The board implements and enforces laws and executive orders to reduce air pollution…
"’The administration was supportive of the legislation as introduced, but later amendments could have weakened the state's existing ability to fight climate change,’ said Gareth Lacy, the governor's deputy press secretary. ‘We can't trade what is already being done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to get a new bill.’"
After a spate of legislative jockeying, the senate, assembly and governor’s office have reached an agreement on three bills to regulate California’s Medical Marijuana industry. Melody Gutierrez, San Francisco Chronicle:
“ The deal among the Senate, Assembly and Gov. Jerry Brown will be contained in three bills, which will require state and local licenses for medical marijuana businesses under the new Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation. The bills classify medical marijuana as an agriculture product, forcing cultivators to abide by the same regulations as farmers when it comes to their use of water, pesticides and other products.
“’After two decades of no regulation, I am pleased to report an agreement has been reached on one of the most comprehensive medical marijuana bills in the nation,’ said Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, who authored one of the three bills, SB643.”
Kudos to whoever it was that came up with the appellation for the new marjuana regulation agency - which has the acronym BUMMR. Nice touch.
The senate Thursday approved a new automatic voter registration measure backed by Secretary of State Alex Padilla. Patrick McGreevy has the story for the Los Angeles Times:
“Nearly 7 million Californians, mostly young people, are eligible but not registered to vote. In an effort to boost the number, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) introduced a bill modeled on a new law in Oregon to get more people to the polls.
“Under the measure, approved by a 24-15 vote, eligible citizens would be registered to vote when they get their driver’s license at the Department of Motor Vehicles unless they opt out.”
A bill banning the use of the term “Redskins” for public school mascots or sports teams has been passed by the legislature and now heads for the governor’s desk. Jeremy White, Sacramento Bee:
“California has the nation’s largest population of Native Americans, including nearly 40,000 students enrolled in public schools as of last year, so lawmakers backing Assembly Bill 30 said the state should join a national campaign to have teams like the Washington, D.C. football team drop a name that critics call outdated and offensive. The measure, which passed the Assembly on a 54-8 vote, prevents schools from using the term in team names, mascots, or nicknames…
T”here are currently four California high schools – in Calaveras, Merced and Madera counties – that use the mascot in question, and amendments to the bill would allow them to keep old uniforms still bearing the name if they are purchased before 2017.”
A controversial bipartisan bill that would revise police asset forfeitures has failed to advance in the Assembly, and is likely done for the year. Melanie Mason, Los Angeles Times:
“Facing intense opposition from law enforcement groups, a measure to limit police seizures of cash, cars and other property from people not convicted of a crime fell flat in the Assembly on Thursday.
“The measure, by Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), would curb the use of a 1980s drug war-era U.S. law, which allows local agencies that work with federal officials to keep such assets if there’s suspicion they were used in a crime or are the proceeds of illegal activity.
“Critics of the forfeiture law say the practice is being abused to plug budget gaps in police departments.
"’I don’t like being on the opposite side of a bill from our law enforcement professionals ... but it is a core principle of American justice that each person has his or her day in court before his or her property is taken,’ said Assemblyman David Hadley (R-Manhattan Beach), co-author of the measure.
There was plenty of other action on the second-to-last day of the session – the Los Angeles Times has a handy running tab here.
It’s hard to offer a definitive call on who had the #WorstWeekinCA, since today will be the final make-or-break for scores of bills. That said, it’s easy to see that this has been a less-than-good week for the Guv, with major setbacks to his climate change goals and no apparent movement on the major transportation infrastructure fix that was the focus of one of the special sessions.
Brown’s blunt-spoken Wednesday press conference, where he called out the oil industry for their fierce opposition to SB350 was a far cry from the sunny optimism he exuded earlier this summer as he traveled the world, talking up California’s leading role in effort to combat greenhouse gases. Sure, he tried to give the old ‘lose the battle, win the war,’ spin, but a loss is still a loss.
And, for a guy who has been working to make himself known one of the leading US voices on combatting climate change, the rebuke has to sting at least a little bit.