ecovote.org > CLCV news > budget poll 1/26/09
Republican Legislative Leadership Exploiting Budget Crisis to Repeal Key Environment and Health Protections
Statewide poll shows California voters remain firmly committed to protecting the state’s environment, even in economic hard times
A bipartisan opinion research team recently released the results of a statewide survey of 800 California voters on issues related to environmental protections in California, finding that even in economic hard times, California voters remain firmly committed to protecting the state’s environment.1 Two-thirds of voters maintain that a strong economy and a clean environment can go hand-in hand; that California’s current environmental laws should be strengthened or better enforced; and that proposals to weaken environmental laws should be kept separate from plans to address the state’s budget deficits.
The poll found that California voters reject a variety of specific proposals to weaken environmental laws; in particular, they reject proposals to allow increased pollution from diesel engines and pesticides. Voters instead want investments in public works that will support clean energy industries and prevent future environmental or traffic problems. CLCV and other leaders in the environmental and public health communities strongly urge lawmakers and Governor Schwarzenegger to consider these findings as they negotiate solutions to the budget crisis and develop a stimulus plan for California.
Among the key specific findings of the survey:
- Voters rank the economy and the state budget deficit among the top problems facing California, but also express concern about a variety of environmental issues.
- Despite their concerns about the economy, voters firmly believe that California can have a strong economy and a clean environment at the same time.
- Two-thirds of California voters call for tougher environmental laws or better enforcement of existing protections.
- California voters want decisions about environmental protections made separately from the budget process.
- Voters strongly oppose a variety of specific proposals to weaken California’s environmental laws.
- Voters favor investments in public works projects that will have multiple benefits for their communities.
According to the research team: “Taken together, the survey results reveal a California electorate that is highly concerned about the economy and the budget deficit, but that has not wavered in its commitment to maintaining a clean environment. Voters not only reject a variety of specific proposals to weaken environmental laws, and urge that debate over environmental laws be removed from the budget process, but they even call for environmental laws to be strengthened or better enforced. And looking to the future, voters back improvements to the state’s infrastructure that will not only create jobs, but will promote clean energy and prevent environmental problems and traffic from worsening.”
FIGURE 4:
Support for Proposed Changes to Environmental Laws
(Split Sampled)
| Proposal | Support | Oppose | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|
| Allowing increased pollution from diesel engines | 18% | 77% | 5% |
| Reducing air quality controls on pesticides | 25% | 71% | 4% |
| Creating a three-member committee of the Governor’s appointees to approve state construction projects without full environmental protections | 31% | 63% | 6% |
| Exempting specific state-funded construction projects from environmental protections | 34% | 60% | 6% |
| Limiting the public’s right to have input on plans for state-funded construction projects | 37% | 58% | 6% |
| Asking Congress to exempt infrastructure projects in California from federal environmental laws | 39% | 55% | 7% |
FIGURE 5:
Agreement with Statements About Infrastructure Investments
(Split Sampled)
| Statement | Agree | Disagree | Don't know/not applicable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transportation investments should support the goal of reducing energy use. | 91% | 6% | 3% |
| Investments in public works projects should be based on their overall benefit to the community, and not just to create jobs. | 83% | 14% | 2% |
| California should prioritize creating jobs in clean energy industries over creating jobs in other, older industries. | 80% | 16% | 4% |
| We should not fund transportation projects that will add to our environmental problems and the problem of congestion in the long run, even if those projects create construction jobs in the short run. | 70% | 27% | 2% |
1Methodology: From January 22-25, 2009, Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates and Public Opinion Strategies completed 800 telephone interviews with registered voters in California who are likely to cast ballots in the November 2010 general election. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.5%; margins of error for subgroups within the sample will be larger. Back to top.
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