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2006 California Environmental Scorecard

Year In Review

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Of course, there were disappointments—and surprises. Air quality has always been the pre-eminent environmental issue in California, yet with the exception of SB 927, which was vetoed, bills to curb air pollution (AB 3018, SB 459, SB 1252, and SB 1205) all died on the Assembly floor. After passing the Assembly floor in 2005 and being held in the Senate in an 11th hour snafu, SB 426, which required any future liquefied natural gas terminals to meet environmental criteria, was sent back to the Assembly in 2006 for what was only a technical amendment. Instead the bill was referred back to the Assembly Utilities Committee, where it was killed with quiet efficiency.

Most disappointingly, the Senate held a package of important bills, including AB 1899 (Wolk), that would have taken a more comprehensive approach to flood control and been the necessary complement to the flood control bond, which puts billions into levees but nothing into policy reform that will prevent future development in vulnerable flood plains. We urge the Senate to work with Assemblymembers Wolk, Jones and others in 2007 on these needed reforms.

Last year’s Environmental Scorecard closed by calling on the Governor and the Legislature to remember the broad bipartisan public support that exists for environmental protection and to work together accordingly. There is no doubt that the rancor of 2005 was replaced by a more bipartisan working relationship in 2006, on the environment as well as other issues—particularly between the Governor and the Democratic leadership.

AB 32 is a milestone achievement with global implications. The enactment of other important environmental bills is an improvement over 2005. And more effective coordination and communication among environmental groups working in Sacramento is a hopeful sign for success in 2007. The question is whether the improvements in 2006 were only a function of election-year politics or if they will carry over to the year after the election. We will continue to work for the day when the Legislature’s votes and the Governor’s actions consistently reflect the bipartisan public support for environmental protection.

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