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2006 California Environmental Scorecard
Year In Review
Download the entire "Year in Review" as a PDF.
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What a Difference a Year Makes
Last year’s Environmental Scorecard described what we called a “dismal” year for environmental protection, with all of the top priority environmental bills either dying in the Legislature or being vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. We closed the 2005 Scorecard, however, by citing reasons for optimism in 2006, chief among them the fact that it was an election year and both the Legislature and Governor had a self-interest in proving they could work together, especially on issues with broad public support, like the environment.
Our prediction was accurate. The 2006 legislative session was one of the most productive in recent years for the environment, including enactment of landmark legislation to curb California’s emissions of greenhouse gases (AB 32, Núñez/Pavley). And unlike 2005, most of the top priority environmental bills passed the Legislature and made it to the Governor’s desk. More generally, the Legislature and Governor worked together successfully on several major initiatives. It was a stark contrast to 2005, when vast amounts of time and money were spent on a special election to enact a politically motivated series of ballot initiatives designed to work around the Legislature, not with it. The initiatives were soundly defeated, leaving the Legislature angry and polarized and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the election’s lead proponent, with his popularity battered.
We give the Legislature and the Governor credit for learning the lessons of 2005. While we won’t look a gift horse in the mouth, it’s fair to wonder if 2006 was, in fact, an election year gift that will be replaced in 2007 by a retreat to more traditional positions. The question applies especially to Governor Schwarzenegger, who did a sharp about-face in 2006, redirecting his attention to issues with broad public appeal and showing deference to the Legislature by calling for a legislative package of bond measures to fund schools, flood control and transportation infrastructure—the latter already Senate President pro Tem Don Perata’s top legislative priority. The Governor and the Legislature then negotiated an on-time state budget by July 1, a rare occurrence that served as the best indicator in Sacramento that bipartisanship had broken out.
And, of course, the Governor signed AB 32, the environmental community’s top priority for 2006 and perhaps the most important environmental measure ever to be enacted in Sacramento. Called the Global Warming Solutions Act, AB 32 requires California to implement a series of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emission levels to 1990 levels by 2020, equaling a 25% reduction over projected levels. Like AB 1493, Pavley’s global warming bill of 2002, AB 32 also is expected to pave the way for other states and countries, and yes, maybe even the United States government, to take serious action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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