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California Legislature

California State Capitol. Image via Wikimedia
Climate Change
They come hat in hand for California’s ‘green’ money
It should come as no surprise that when the California Legislature recently began the process of divvying up proceeds from the state’s cap-and-trade auctions, a cavalcade of local officials, community activists and lobbyists rushed to Sacramento, with hands out. Billions of dollars burning a hole in the state’s pocket has that effect on people, and […]
By • September 5, 2017
Health
Legal spots to shoot up illegal drugs? Why California may OK them
(Update: On Sept. 12, the Senate voted down AB 186. Its sponsor, Assemblywoman Susan Eggman, said “I am committed to finding a way forward next year.”) Many California communities could open centers inviting addicts to shoot up hard drugs under a little-noticed bill that has cleared the state Assembly and now awaits a vote on the Senate […]
By • July 26, 2017
The most debated portion of the Garcia bill involves an existing loophole under the current cap and trade law that allows industrial facilities to get around retrofitting old, less-efficient equipment by purchasing pollution offsets and continuing to emit. But in addressing one cap-and-trade loophole, Garcia’s bill appears to open another: While it requires local air boards to establish equipment retrofitting programs, because the original law’s language was not struck, facilities could continue to trade pollution credits in lieu of replacing older equipment. Such a program, known as RECLAIM, is operated by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. During floor debate, Garcia made it clear that her bill did not intend to create that loophole, but the language remained in the version that passed.
Economy
Newly passed pollution bill is ‘downpayment’ to environmental justice
As the quieter ‘companion bill’ to Monday’s cap-and-trade extension legislation, Assembly Bill 617 sought to placate environmental justice advocates who have increasingly complained that the state’s globally ambitious climate policy overlooks a local problem: poor California communities living in the shadow of polluters. The bill, sponsored by Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia of Bell Gardens, was […]
By • July 18, 2017

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