Efforts to modify California’s four decades old environmental protection law are still moving forward at the state Capitol, though it’s clear that there remains a healthy dose of skepticism about the end result.
As mayors of two of California’s largest cities, we’ve joined with other large city mayors including San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, and Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, to call for a modernization of one of California’s oldest and most important environmental laws, the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.
Senate President ProTem Darrell Steinberg today released details of his effort to overhaul California’s environmental law, including provisions that reduce the likelihood that urban infill projects like Sacramento’s proposed downtown arena would be subject to lawsuits that could stall construction.
The world’s largest carbon market has been holed below the water line. On April 16th the European Parliament voted to reject an attempt to bolster Europe’s flagship environmental programme, the Emissions Trading System (ETS). Carbon prices, already low, plunged. The emerging network of global carbon trading and European climate policy as a whole could sink.
SACRAMENTO — As Gov. Jerry Brown toured China over the last week, he repeatedly contrasted that nation’s speedy construction of modern transportation systems and other key public works with what he characterized as a lack of vision back home.
SACRAMENTO — A day after Gov. Jerry Brown said overhauling California’s environmental laws was unlikely this year, the leader of the state Senate said Wednesday the effort is very much alive in the Legislature and he thinks it can be accomplished by year’s end.
A couple of years into Jerry Brown’s first governorship Dow Chemical Co. abandoned plans to build a $500 million petrochemical plant, citing regulatory red tape.
A bipartisan group of legislators and an unprecedented coalition of varied stakeholder groups have come together to advance a legislative package (Senate Bill 11 and Assembly Bill 8) that provides regulatory relief and certainty to our business community, while also protecting the environment by providing grants to offset the purchase of new agricultural equipment, clean cars, and manufacturing machinery.
SACRAMENTO — For years, California’s business leaders have lamented that the state’s 43-year-old environmental law is too often used to protect everything but the environment.
President Obama assured donors earlier this week that the administration can tackle pollution without hurting consumers. Expect his nominee to run the Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy, to use a similar argument when she heads to Capitol Hill next week for a confirmation grilling by Republican senators.
Proposed legislation to raise the state minimum wage could eliminate tens of thousands of jobs and harm the California economy, a small-business advocacy group said.
On Monday in the State Capitol, I was joined by business leaders from across California to discuss legislation that will ease the backlog of business filings at the Secretary of State’s office, as well as other legislation to strengthen the Golden State’s economic recovery.
For over 40 years CEQA has protected our environment, spurred informed planning, and assured public input and involvement in community growth decisions. These aspects of CEQA – the ones that have helped preserve California’s natural resources and make it a better, healthier place to raise our families – must be preserved. Abuses of the law – primarily to stall projects, increase expenses for a competitor or negotiate a better labor agreement – however, have resulted in calls for reform from the Governor, the Legislature and businesses throughout California.
Two months ago, Gov. Jerry Brown, in plugging CEQA reform, told legislators, “Our approach needs to be based more on consistent standards that provide greater certainty and cut needless delays.”
Amid reports of backlogs that, at one time, stretched back almost three months, the Legislature appears poised to show some remarkable speed in helping those waiting to open their own business.