LegAlert #97-8

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Children's Health at Risk on Assembly Floor
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**AB 278 (Escutia)** Children face an array of complex
environmental threats to their health, from asthma-inducing air
pollution to toxic chemicals. Children are more susceptible than
adults to environmental hazards, and economically disadvantaged
children in particular shoulder a disproportionate burden of
exposure to dangerous substances because they often live in close
proximity to industrial facilities and other sources of environmental
pollutants.

Despite these threats, health standards are currently based on what
is considered safe for adult males between the ages of 30 and 50.
The Children's Environmental Health Protection Act, AB 278
(Escutia), would make a fundamental change in the process by
which statewide toxics standards are determined. It would set key
public health standards for air and water at levels that protect
infants and children. In addition, it would provide the following
solutions:
- the Air Resources Board would conduct air pollution monitoring
at selected schools and day care centers, in order to improve overall
air quality monitoring;
- major facilities located in close proximity to schools would be
required to submit plans for air pollution source reductions;
- repeat air quality violators located near schools would be better
monitored; and
- in the South Coast air district, day care centers and schools would
be notified when air quality standards are violated or expected to be
violated.

Status: AB 278 is opposed by every major industry group in
California, who are trying to convince legislators that improved
public health standards would pose too great an economic cost.
The bill will be voted on in the Assembly on Thursday, June 5.

Action Needed: Contact your Assemblymembers and urge them to
support AB 278, a critical step towards safeguarding the next
generation.

**SB 661 (O'Connell)** SB 661 would substantially limit the
State Water Board's very damaging policy that allows the
designation of "containment zones," polluted sites that can
essentially remain polluted in perpetuity. Instead of being a policy
of last resort for sites where cleanup technologies have already been
used to achieve maximum possible treatment and removal, the
containment zone policy provides an easy mechanism for polluters
to avoid cleanup responsibilities.

SB 661 establishes a set of conditions and requirements that must
be incorporated by the Water Board into any containment zone
policy it adopts. The bill takes strong steps towards limiting the
abuse of a dangerous loophole which contributes to the degradation
of California's water resources.

Status: SB 661 will come up for vote on the Senate floor sometime
this week, probably Thursday, June 5.

Action Needed: Contact your state Senators and urge them to
support this bold attempt to stop a destructive policy which
tolerates the abuse of the state's water resources.

**Assembly Coastal Bills** Just as we need to support the last few
coastal bills moving through the Senate (see Leg Alert #97-7), so
do we need to ensure the success of the final Assembly bills. The
following bills will be voted on before Friday, June 6. Contact your
Assemblymembers and name the bills you would like them to
support.

AB 411 (Wayne) - Requires increased monitoring of water quality
at public beaches and the posting of health warning signs at
contaminated beaches.

AB 1429 (Shelley) - Establishes a comprehensive coastal water
quality monitoring system.

AB 1464 (Strom-Martin) - Establishes a program for citizens to
nominate pristine coastal waters for special state protection and for
those waters to receive appropriate protection.

AB 459 (Firestone) - Extends the public health regulation of
commercial shellfish growing and harvesting to recreational
shellfishing.

AB 1228 (Ducheny) - Establishes the California Public Beach
Enhancement Program.

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Address your letters to: Assembly Member/Senator ______
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814

To find out who your state legislators are, call:
(916) 445-3614 (Assembly)
(916) 445-4251 (Senate)

To find out the email addresses for your state legislators, check the
following Web pages:
http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/acsframeset7.htm
http://www.sen.ca.gov/htbin/seninfo/sen.senator

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