Posted on 07/05/2002 6:26:17 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
SACRAMENTO -- On the morning after the California Assembly passed a landmark global warming bill that has become a lightning rod for national debate, Speaker Herb Wesson received a call from former President Clinton, praising him for shepherding through the Legislature a bill that would make California the first state to regulate emissions of greenhouse gases.
Clinton's personal interest in the bill is indicative of what the measure authored by Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, has become to the environmental movement nationwide -- the vessel of their hope for action to combat global warming in the wake of the Bush administration's decision not to join in an international treaty that would have committed the United States to action.
The auto industry waged a multimillion-dollar campaign to stop Pavley's bill and is now focusing its efforts on urging a veto from Gov. Gray Davis. If that fails, there is talk of waging a referendum campaign to overturn the Legislature's action by popular vote.
The measure would require the Air Resources Board to prepare by 2005 a list of regulations to achieve "the maximum feasible cost-effective reductions" in the emission of carbon dioxide from cars and small trucks.
Proponents of Pavley's bill, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, staged their own lobbying campaign, including enlisting actor Paul Newman to personally call fence-sitting legislators to seek their support.
Interest ran high also in Congress, where Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and John Kerry, D-Mass, jointly wrote to state leaders saying, "California has an opportunity to do what we in Washington failed to achieve -- to base your policy on sound science rather than wildly distorted rhetoric."
On Wednesday, Pavley was still reeling with excitement from the reaction to passage of her bill -- and predicting that Davis would look favorably upon it.
Although the governor has not committed, his public comments indicate he is nearly certain to sign the measure after reviewing amendments that were added this week.
In an interview with The Star on Tuesday, Davis said, "I'm certainly leaning toward it ... but I don't want to tell the world I'm signing it until I read the bill."
The bill passed the Assembly on Monday 41-30 with only Democrats voting in support. The action came a day after the Senate had taken an entirely different bill by Pavley, gutted the language and substituted the language of her original bill on global warming.
The action was a tactical move to make some changes to the version the Senate had previously approved. Those changes won over a couple of moderate Democrats, and Wesson put it up for a vote immediately.
Any delay, supporters said, would have led to what supporters said would have been a "carpet-bombing" lobbying effort on the part of the auto industry.
The speed of the action, said Assemblyman Keith Richman, R-Northridge, "was an embarrassment to the Legislature."
"If such far-reaching public policy couldn't get the votes on Wednesday that it got on Monday, maybe we shouldn't have voted on it," Richman said.
Rumors have been circulating around the Capitol of a potential referendum drive should Davis sign the bill, but California Chamber of Commerce lobbyist Charles Bacchi said no formal proposal has been discussed. He characterized the talk of a referendum as something that has "bubbled up" from individuals, perhaps with urging from conservative radio talk-show hosts.
A referendum would be a multimillion-dollar undertaking. Sponsors would have to collect 420,000 signatures within 90 days after Davis signed the bill. The governor will have 10 days to act upon the measure once it reaches his office, but so far the bill has been held at the Assembly desk. It can be held there indefinitely -- or at least until the end of the legislative session in August -- before being forwarded to Davis.
If we could make a stink and make it costly to the Democrats that voted for it here we could impact the national Program.!!!!
Just getting the signatures on a petition before November would cook duffus' goose and give Simon the win and maybe a number of legislators that wouldn't have had a chance otherwise.
I don't have a clue about what can be done.
Without us doing anything?
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