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2006 California Environmental Scorecard

Year In Review

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A Better Year in the Legislature

Was all of that environmental coordination conducive to better results in the Legislature? Yes!

Although the average scores did not differ greatly from 2005 (“Snapshot of the Numbers”), the number of scored bills that were sent to the Governor improved markedly, from 12 in 2005 to 20 in 2006. And unlike last year, when all but one of the highest priority bills died in the Legislature, the 2006 record is much better, with key bills on global warming (AB 32, SB 1368), air pollution (SB 927), alternative fuels (AB 1012), energy efficiency (AB 2021), fish and game (SB 1535), coastal pollution (AB 2444, AB 2838), chemicals policy (AB 289, SB 1379) and environmental enforcement (SB 1489) all reaching the Governor’s desk.

Part of the improvement can be attributed to the election year, when legislators are more wary of voting against a popular issue like the environment. Most districts, though, are pre-ordained by redistricting for one party or the other, which reduces the fear factor. In fact, the environment might fare better if there were more competitive districts.

We believe more top priority bills passed their tough hurdles in the Legislature, especially the Assembly floor, because the environmental community identified its top priority bills early and consistently to legislative leaders, which in turn gave us—as well as our legislative allies—more time to focus our lobbying work on the “swing vote” members whose votes always determine a bill’s outcome.

Grassroots activism also played a central role in passing top-tier environmental bills through the legislature. CLCV identified key members in both houses who were potential obstacles in moving bills forward and we made sure that they heard from our members when key votes were coming up on the floor or in committee. Over 1500 phone calls were “passed through” to Assemblymembers and Senators using our innovative technology that allows us to call our members across the state, inform them of time-sensitive priority environmental legislation, and then transfer them directly to their own legislator.

Next page: Disappointments and Surprises
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