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2006 California Environmental Scorecard

Year In Review

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AB 32 is the product of almost two years of behind-the-scenes work by the environmental community, Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, supportive legislators and legislative staffers, allies in the Administration, and clean technology advocates in the private sector. Speaker Núñez in particular deserves praise, first for agreeing to be a joint author of the bill, which immediately sent the message that the bill would not easily be stopped in the Assembly, and then for remaining true to the essential environmental tenets of the bill despite immense pressure from affected industries and the Governor to backtrack.

Governor Schwarzenegger stood in high contrast with others in his party, beginning with President Bush and Vice-President Cheney, by directing his staff to work with Núñez and Pavley on a measure he could sign. The intense negotiations weathered several attempts by the Governor—in most cases unsuccessful—to weaken key provisions of AB 32. In the last week of the legislative session, after initially declaring he would veto the bill because it failed to guarantee an emission trading program, the Governor announced publicly that he would sign AB 32. California and Governor Schwarzenegger reaped most of the international attention that was generated by the enactment of AB 32.

Environmental improvement was not limited to the enactment of AB 32. Overall, 20 of the 29 bills in this year’s Scorecard reached the Governor’s desk, a greatly improved result compared with 2005, when only 12 of 27 Environmental Scorecard bills passed through the Legislature and went to the Governor.

Schwarzenegger’s struggle to regain popularity among Californians has been the political story of 2006. The Governor clearly saw the environment as an essential issue for his constituents. Despite transparent ploys such as touring the state in a green campaign bus, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger helped prove that—except in the Legislature—environmental protection is not a partisan issue.

Still a Mixed Record

Despite the success of AB 32 and the Governor’s public embrace of the environment, his record on signing good environmental bills into law remains mediocre. In fact, in 2006 it dipped somewhat—to 50 percent—from 58% in 2004 and 2005. Of the 20 scored bills that reached the Governor’s desk, he signed 10.

Next page: Signings and Vetoes
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