1995 California Environmental Scorecard
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
1995 CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL SCORECARD 22ND ANNUAL GUIDE TO ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION AND VOTES CALIFORNIA LEAGUE OF CONSERVATION VOTERS THE CALIFORNIA LEAGUE OF CO N S E R VATION VOTERS CO N T E N T S he California League of Conservation Voters is the non-partisan political action arm of Ca l i f o rn i a ’ s environmental movement. The League works to protect the envi r o n - 1995: Year in Revi e w .. 1 Tmental quality of the state by working to elect envi r o n m e n t a l l y responsible candidates The Worst of ‘95 .. 1 to state and federal office, then hold them accountable to the environmental agenda. Voting Summary .. 2 The League conducts rigorous research on candidates and concentrates on the races whe r e Notes on the Scores.. 2 our resources can make a difference. We back our endorsements with exp e r tise, assisting The Agenda: Bill Descriptions .. 3 - 5 candidates with the media, fundraising and grassroots organizing strategies they need to win. As s e m b ly Floor Chart .. 6 - 9 Each election yea r , we place experienced organizers, known as the Grizzly Corps, in the most Senate Floor Chart.. 10 - 11 cr ucial environmental contests in the state, then work to get out the vote on Election Day. In Five- Y ear Aver a g e s .. .1 2 1994, CLCV fielded 20 Grizzlies in 17 campaigns and contributed over $220,000 on behalf Leg i s l a t i ve of candidates. Ro s t e r s. Inside Back Cover The League is also a legi s l a t i ve wat c h d o g. Each yea r , we track scores of envi r o n m e n t a l bills and votes in Sacramento and work to make sure legislators hear from environmental © 1995 California League of voters. At session’s end, we publish the Ca l i f ornia Envi r onmental Scorec a r d to help voters dis- Co n s e r vation Vot e r s tinguish between the rhetoric and reality of a lawm a ke r ’ s record. 965 Mission St., Suite 625 This edition of the Scorecard records the most important environmental votes of the 1995 session. Now in its 22nd yea r , the Scorecard – distributed to 25,000 League members, other San Francisco, CA 94103 en vironmental organizations and the news media – is the authoritative guide to the state’s envi - (415) 896-5550 ronmental politics. 10951 W. Pico Blvd. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Los Angeles, CA 90064 (310) 441-4162 Paul Growal d , Chairpe r s o n Dian Grueneich, President Mi k e Eaton, N. Cal Vice President In t e r net: [email protected] or Ruth Hunter, S. Cal. Vice President ht t p : / / w w w. e c o vot e . o rg / e c o vot e Fred Woo c h e r , Tre a s u r e r Jane Win g fi e l d , Secretary Winston Hickox, Past President Charles Grace, Chairperson Emeritus Tom Ad a m s Melinda Bittan Ann Boren Kimo Campbell Nicholas Clinch Jim Compton Per mission granted to quote from or Fran Diamond Ca r o l yn Green Cl i f f Gladstein reproduce portions of this publi c a t i o n Jennifer Herna n d e z if properly credited. Paul Helliker Doug Linney Ann Notthoff Ga r y Pat t o n Tom Soto Printed on recycled paper using Ter res Unsoeld La r ry Wan so y-based inks Lynn Was s e r Monica Wes o l ow s k i Designed by Mark Deitch & V. John Wh i t e B.J . Wil h o i t Associates, Inc., Los An g e l e s AC K N O W L E D G E M E N T S The League thanks the following organizations and individuals for their contributions to the 1995 California Envi r onmental Scorec a rd : American Lung As s o c i a t i o n V. John White and As s o c i a t e s Ca l i f o r nia Native Plant Society Audubon Society Ca l P I R G Ca l i f o r nians Ag ainst Was t e Joe Caves Mountain Lion Preservation Fou n d a t i o n Planning and Conservation League Price Consulting Si e r ra Club Californi a Trust for Public Land 1995: A ‘WILD RIDE’ IN YEAR OF TURMOIL, BUT GREENS HOLD THE LINE “We ’ ve been down a wild river, but we didn’t drown .” be l o w) both stalled after citizens targeted the Capitol with — Si e r ra Club lobbyi s t / calls and letters. CLCV Board member V. John Wh i t e , Some good bills made it through unscathed. Jim Costa’s San Diego Union-Tri bu n e , Sept. 22 SB 901 is a landmark in water policy: For the first time, local officials must make sure water supplies are avai l a bl e o call 1995 a year of turmoil in the Legislature is before approving new devel o p m e n t . li k e calling a hurricane a stiff breeze. The ongoing But the bills that reached Gov. Wilson found the deck Tbattle over control of the As s e m b ly produced a yea r st a c k ed. Of six pro-environment bills sent to him, he vet o e d with three Speakers, three politically- m o t i vated recall elec- half. Of eight anti-environmental bills, he signed them all. tions, debates dominated by name-calling, and low produc- The oddest thing about 1995 may be that envi r o n m e n - tal scores are up: For both houses and both parties, the tiv i t y . The uncertainty means just about ever ything about aver ge floor score rose by 3 to 12 points over 1994. Per f e c t 1995 should be marked with a footnote: Wait ‘til next yea r . scores rose from 6 to 19, and zeros dropped from 6 to 1. Fueled by contributions from Big Oil and other pollut- Se veral factors contribut e d , including the strong bipar- ing industries, anti-environmentalists mounted swee p i n g tisan support for several conservation bills, and the fact that attacks on Californi a ’ s public health and natural resources ma n y of the worst bills had no floor votes because of the – with Gov. Wilson launching his own anti-envi r o n m e n t a l di s o r ganization. Also welcome were an emerging group of broadsides in a bid to boost his presidential campaign. Th e m o d e r a t e ly green-leaning Republicans, unfort u n a t e ly same special interests working in the guise of “regu l a t o r y accompanied by the sharp anti-environmental turn of sev- re f o r m” to roll back federal environmental laws brought eral Democrats. their agenda to California and produced a flood of bad In both parties, the polarization now is between true bi l l s . be l i e vers in the myth of “jobs vs. the environment” and The good news: For the most part, envi r o n m e n t a l i s t s those who realize protecting the environment is about pro- held the line. The chaos helped, as environmentalists wer e tecting the public health of 33 million Californians. Unless ab le to block many of the worst bills in sympathetic com- more lawm a k ers listen to the people instead of special mittees. But the environmental community also flexed its interests, 1996 promises more of the same. grassroots muscle. The two worst bills of the year (see THE WORST OF ‘95 – SB 1180, SB 1307 he two worst bills of the session never made it to a Grassroots pressure forced a delay of the vote, and as final vote – and one was never voted on at all. Both the anti-1180 campaign gained momentum, Calderon with- Twere by Sen. Charles Calderon: SB 1180 wou l d dr e w the provisions gutting CEQA. Another assault on ha ve gutted the California Environmental Quality Ac t CEQA is expected in 1996. (CEQA), and SB 1307 attacked the state’s Safe Drinking SB 1307 was backed by the major oil companies, who Water Ac t . spent $1.8 million pushing it. It would lower state drinking SB 1180, written by the Wilson Administration, was the water standards for the pesticide DBCP and other contam- most serious attack ever mounted against CEQA – an envi - inants, jeopardizing the health of the most vulnerable pop- ronmental Bill of Rights that guarantees citizens a voice in ulations. It would prohibit the state from setting stricter decisions about envi r o n m e n t a l l y harmful development pro- standards than the federal gover nment – a shorts i g h t e d jects. Under current law, developers must prove that their projects will not harm the environment. SB 1180 wou l d mo ve when Congress is considering lowering federal stan- ha ve reversed the burden of proof, so that citizens who da r d s .