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2008 California Environmental Scorecard

Year In Review

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From beginning to end, the 2008 legislative session was dominated by one factor: the state budget. The first budget passed by the legislature was two and a half months late, and it was vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger. The legislature seemed poised to override the veto, which would have forced a political and constitutional crisis. Both were averted, at least for the time being, when a teetering agreement was reached.

Yet in the midst of the state’s ever-deepening budget problems—which are by no means resolved and will likely be even worse next year—the California League of Conservation Voters enjoyed its greatest legislative victory in its 36-year history with the enactment of SB 375 (Steinberg).

Sponsored by CLCV and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), SB 375 is a first-in-the-nation law that gives local and state officials the tools to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by making housing and transportation planning decisions that will reduce urban sprawl, long-distance commutes and vehicle miles traveled per household. SB 375 is not only an essential part of the state’s arsenal to meet its GHG reduction goals, as outlined in the landmark AB 32 legislation in 2006, but also the most important change in land use planning since the Coastal Act and the California Environmental Quality Act were approved in the mid-1970s.

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