LegAlert #97-16

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Final Push as the Legislative Season Nears Closure
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Friday, September 12 is the last day for the Legislature to pass bills
that will take effect in January 1998, effectively closing the 1997
legislative season.

In these final days, the Legislature will decide on hundreds of
remaining bills, including some of the most important environmental
legislation of the year. Although Wilson's "neutron bomb" in
budget negotiations eliminated funding for many of our priorities
this year, there still remain several bills that could have a substantial
positive impact on the condition of California's environment. It is
crucial that members hear from their constituents TODAY or
TOMORROW in support of the following two.

** AB 278 (Escutia) ** Originally described in LegAlert #97-8, the
Children's Environmental Health Protection Act is among the Sierra
Club's top priority bills this year. The bill is a comprehensive
package of new measures to protect children's health including
stronger air and water quality standards, improved monitoring of
children's exposure to unhealthful air, and enhanced compliance
programs for facilities releasing hazardous emissions near
schools. Co-sponsored by the Sierra Club along with the California
League for Conservation Voters and the American Lung
Association, AB 278 would ensure that key public health standards
for air quality and drinking water are set to protect infants and
children, as well as the general public.

AB 278 is opposed by every major industry group in California,
who are trying to convince legislators that improved public health
standards would impose too great an economic cost. It recently
topped an industry coalition's list of "Ugly Eight" bills this session.
However, the bill is getting a lot of positive attention as well, and
last Sunday appeared in a Los Angeles Times editorial as one of the
four remaining legislative priorities for the year.

STATUS: AB 278 will be heard on the Senate floor as soon as
TOMORROW (Thursday). It will then move back to the Assembly
for concurrence with Senate amendments.

ACTION NEEDED: We need to reach the following swing votes,
who will determine the fate of this important initiative to protect
children's health. If you are in one of these Senators' districts,
PLEASE contact your member IMMEDIATELY and urge him or
her to support the bill:
Ruben Ayala (District 32): 916/445-6868
Richard Polanco (22): 916/445-3456
Ralph Dills (28): 916/445-5953
Leroy Greene (6): 916/445-7807
Quentin Kopp (8): 916/445-0503
Charles Calderon (30): 916/327-8315
Jim Costa (16): 916/445-4641
Teresa Hughes (25): 916/445-2104
Steve Peace (40): 916/445-6767
Bruce McPherson (15): 916/445-5843

** AB 595 (Brown) ** First described in LegAlert #97-4, AB 595
is an important bill that could reach beyond its impact on Bay Area
transportation and have broader implications for increasing local
control of transportation statewide. The bill would authorize the
Metropolitan Transportation Commission to impose, with voter
approval, a gas tax of up to ten cents per gallon to fund regional
transportation initiatives within the Commission's nine-county
jurisdiction. It would provide alternatives to single occupancy
vehicles, and put increased control of transportation facilities into
the hands of people who use them.

STATUS: Having passed both the Assembly and the Senate, the
bill is now back in the Assembly for concurrence. The bill first
passed the Assembly with only one vote to spare, though.

ACTION NEEDED: Several Assemblymembers either were absent
or abstained from voting during the Assembly's first vote on AB
595. We need to contact these members and urge them to support
the initiative this time around.
Dick Floyd (55): 916/445-3134
Martin Gallegos (57): 916/445-7610
Mike Machado (17): 916/445-7931
Howard Wayne (78): 916/445-2112
Scott Wildman (43): 916/445-8364

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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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