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Monday, June 19, 2017 - 14:30

Between the very little Attorney General Jeff Sessions was willing to say about his conversations with President Trump and the essentially nothing Senate Republicans were willing to say about their health-care bill, there was one revealing bit of testimony on Capitol Hill late last week -- from Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.

On Thursday, Pruitt told a House subcommittee that the EPA is not reviewing California's lone-in-the-country authority to set air-quality standards tougher than those found elsewhere in the nation.

For months, California politicians, led by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown (D), have aggressively positioned the state as a bulwark against the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda -- for example, striking their own climate pacts with Canada and Mexico.

Since January, one cause for concern among Democrats and environmentalists is a longstanding waiver, written into the 1970 Clean Air Act, that allowed California to impose its own emissions rules for automobiles.

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Thursday, June 15, 2017 - 15:15

California's unique authority to set tougher air quality standards than the federal government isn't being targeted right now, according to Environmental Protection Agency head Scott Pruitt. 

“Currently the waiver is not under review," Pruitt said Thursday.

The comment, made during a Capitol Hill hearing, could deescalate what appeared to be a brewing battle between California and President Trump's administration.

During Pruitt's confirmation hearing earlier this year, he raised the possibility of reviewing California's waivers under the Clean Air Act, a decades-old mechanism that has helped the state become a leader in fighting smog and climate change. 

California regulators are counting on using their waiver authority to pursue tougher standards on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles, even as the Trump administration opens the door to rolling back federal rules. A dozen other states are also adopting California's regulations as their own.

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Thursday, June 15, 2017 - 14:15

President Trump once vowed to get rid of the Environmental Protection Agency “in almost every form,” leaving behind only “tidbits.” On Thursday, the man he appointed to lead the EPA went to Capitol Hill to defend a budget proposal that would begin that promised dismantling.

The “trimmed” budget he referenced would amount to a cut of more than 31 percent, or $2.4 billion annually — a larger percentage than at any other federal agency. The administration wants to rid the EPA of thousands of employees and sharply reduce or eliminate a variety of national and regional programs.

The subcommittee’s chairman, Rep. Ken Calvert (Calif.), and several other Republicans also were quick to distance themselves from many of the administration’s proposals, saying Congress is unlikely to go along with such deep — and deeply unpopular — cuts to environmental programs around the country.

The Trump administration’s efforts to take a sledgehammer to the EPA budget have drawn widespread criticism from environmental groups and from a bipartisan group of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including even some Republicans who said they think the agency overstepped its regulatory authority under President Barack Obama.

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Wednesday, May 31, 2017 - 16:30

As the Paris climate agreement now joins the litany of great American things that President Donald Trump has debased, there is this silver lining: More of the world is starting to think like Californians.

“We Europeans must really take our fate into our own hands,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told supporters last week as Trump wrapped up a summit with America’s European allies. Merkel’s last straw was partly Trump’s bashing of NATO, but she also was reacting to his reckless abdication of leadership on global warming.

Trump was never going to keep Barack Obama’s word. His very policies undercut the historic climate commitment. His toying with reneging has been a sick play to his base, and reckless.

But California has known this all along.

In Sacramento, legislation that would move the state to 100 percent clean, zero-carbon electricity over the next generation moved inexorably though the Senate. So did a quieter, but nonetheless pivotal package that would insulate California from any White House attempt to roll back federal environmental standards, exploit public lands, punish whistleblowers or corrupt scientific data.

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Wednesday, May 31, 2017 - 16:00

Citing fears the federal government may weaken environmental protections, the California state Senate on Tuesday passed a “Preserve California” package of bills.

The three bills keep in place President Barack Obama-era federal environmental regulations, discourage the sale of federal public land without the state’s permission and safeguard federal whistleblowers authorized to work in California. Los Angeles-area Democrats wrote all three bills, which were met by opposition from Republicans at every step.

“We won’t allow Californians to suffer the consequences of Donald Trump’s reckless slash-and-burn approach to the environment,” California Senate Leader Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, said in a statement. “These measures safeguard public health and ensure we continue to make policy based on the best available science, not ‘alternative facts’ or polluter propaganda.” De León and state Sen. Henry Stern, D-Agoura Hills, co-wrote Senate Bill 49.

The package next heads to the Assembly for approval. With Democrat majorities in both wings of the statehouse and the governor’s office, Republican efforts to derail the measures aren’t likely to be effective.

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Tuesday, May 30, 2017 - 15:45

SACRAMENTO – The California State Senate voted today to approve the Preserve California legislative package, which insulates the state from dangerous rollbacks in federal environmental regulations and public health protections, shields public lands from exploitation, and protects whistleblowers and public scientific data.   

“We won’t allow Californians to suffer the consequences of Donald Trump’s reckless slash-and-burn approach to the environment,” California Senate Leader Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles) said. “These measures safeguard public health and ensure we continue to make policy based on the best available science, not ‘alternative facts’ or polluter propaganda.”

Senator Henry Stern (D-Agoura Hills) said, “This is pretty straightforward - just common sense measures to preserve minimum safeguards for clean air and water,” Senator Henry Stern said.  “We still have a ways to go to clean up our environment, but at the very least we should not be backsliding.”

Senator Ben Allen (D – Santa Monica), author of the Public Lands Protection Act said, “Today the state Senate made a strong statement that our national parks and national monuments are not for sale.  With the passage of this legislation, California will have the power to block the sale or lease of these public treasures.”

“With science and scientific data under threat, SB 51 will protect whistleblowers who stand up for the public’s interest, and keep them from having their professional credentials stripped away if they are licensed in California,” said Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara). “It will also ensure that climate change and other scientific data so critical to our future remains intact and accessible to scientists for years to come.”

“Californians value strong environmental stewardship and this package of bills safeguards our public lands, the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the workers who protect all three,” said Senator Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont), chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.  “These baseline protections will help shield us from the reckless rollbacks proposed by the administration in Washington.”

Jennifer Fearing, who represents the Humane Society of the United States and Defenders of Wildlife said, “The livable communities we want for Californians - communities with clean air for people to breathe and clean water for us to drink - cannot be achieved with an exclusively human-centric approach that ignores the role that other species play. SB 49 sends a strong, clear message to Washington and to our fellow Californians: We will not allow the weakening of protections necessary for the well-being of California's wild species, ecosystem, ourselves and future generations."

“Strong environmental protections are at the heart of California’s way of life and our state’s economy that is so reliant on tourism and clean technology. Senate Bill 49 and the entire Preserve California legislative package will provide critical safeguards to our clear air and clean water laws in the face of weakened federal regulations from the Trump Administration.” said Terry Tamminen, CEO, Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation and former Secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency.

Ann Nothoff, Director of California advocacy for NRDC said, “California isn’t about to let the Trump administration hand over our greatest assets for exploitation and sale. We value the amazing natural resources we have in this state and refuse to let the Trump administration put corporate interests and profits ahead of the rights and health of everyday Americans. Thank goodness we live in a state that is willing to stand up for its people and the beautiful, irreplaceable places that make California so great.”

Cindy Clark, Senior Water Director at Sustainable Silicon Valley said, “Innovators within the California Clean Energy Economy value policy certainty and SB 49 does just that, ensuring our bedrock accords on clean air, clean water and sustainable habitats are not threatened by imprudent partisan rollbacks.”

Sara Aminzadeh, Executive Director of the California Coastkeeper Alliance said, "We’re proud to see our Legislature take action to resist short-sighted attempts to undermine safeguards that protect our economy and communities.”

PROPOSAL DETAILS

SB 49: The California Environmental Defense Act (de León/Stern)

  • Makes current federal clean air, climate, clean water, worker safety, and endangered species standards enforceable under state law, even if the federal government rolls back and weakens those standards. 
  • Directs state environmental, public health, and worker safety agencies to take all actions within their authorities to ensure standards in effect and being enforced as of January 2017 remain in effect.

SB 50: The Public Lands Protection Act (Allen)

  • Establishes a new state policy to discourage conveyances of federal lands to private developers for resource extraction and directs the State Lands Commission, which oversees much of the federal lands in the state, to establish a right of first refusal by the state of any federal lands proposed for sale or conveyance to other parties.
  • Ensures (a) that the state reviews any transactions involving federal lands in California to ensure those lands are protected, and (b) where feasible, important lands are protected via state action.

SB 51: The Whistleblower and Public Data Protection Act (Jackson)

  • Attorneys, engineers, scientists and other professionals working for federal agencies are often licensed to practice in California. US EPA attorneys and scientists who report cover ups, destruction of information, or other wrongdoing may have federal whistleblower protection but could still lose their professional certifications under California law.
     
  • This measure would ensure federal employees do not lose state licensure for revealing violations of law, unethical actions or dangers to public health and safety. It also would direct state environmental and public health agencies to protect any information or data under state law, even if parties in Washington DC order their censorship or destruction. 
     

SB 49 Floor Statement

SB 50 Floor Statement

SB 51 Floor Statement

Visit the Preserve California website

SacBee – Editorial: California is right not to let Trump wreck the environment

Mercury News – Editorial: California must fight Trump on the environment

New York Times: Fighting Trump on Climate, California Becomes a Global Force

#PreserveCA
#ActOnClimate

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Tuesday, March 14, 2017 - 15:15

The Legislature should join with Gov. Jerry Brown to build a Green Wall around California.

It’s the only way to preserve the environmental protections Californians value as President Donald Trump sets about dismantling the Environmental Protection Agency.

A package of bills introduced by California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and three Southern California lawmakers would make the existing federal clean water, clean air and endangered species protections state law.

The bills — SB 49, SB 50 and SB 51 — are designed to preserve California as a model for environmental protections even if Congress follows through on Trump’s deplorable agenda to roll back or eliminate existing ones.

Polls consistently show that the vast majority of Californians — more than 70 percent — support the governor’s work to reduce the impact of climate change on the environment. For 50 years, cleaning up our waterways and improving our air quality has been a national movement with widespread bipartisan support.

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Wednesday, March 1, 2017 - 16:00

Clean air and water ought to be nonpartisan issues. Liberal or conservative, rich or poor, no living creature should have to worry that life’s essentials are unsafe.

Yet, disappointingly, President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans seem bent on dismantling environmental protections, using jobs as a pretext. It’s a deeply misguided ideological stance with real public health implications.

Californians can, and should, push back.

Southern California lawmakers have introduced a smart package of bills designed to inoculate the state against this weakening of federal environmental standards.

Senate Bill 49 by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, and Sen. Henry Stern, D-Agoura Hills, would lock in current federal standards as the state’s baseline on air, climate, water and other issues, even if the federal government lowers them later.

SB 50, by Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, would strengthen the state’s say in the sale of federal land here to private developers who want to drill or mine it.

And SB 51 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, would protect federal whistleblowers here, and preserve environmental and public health data, even if federal authorities order them censored.

The Legislature should pass them, swiftly, and state water authorities should implement policy under existing law to better protect seasonal streams and temporary wetlands. And California Republicans should step up. After all, it was one of their own – President Richard Nixon – who created the EPA.

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Thursday, February 23, 2017 - 16:15

SACRAMENTO — Concerned about threats by the Trump administration to weaken environmental and whistle-blower protection laws, California lawmakers introduced three bills Thursday to try to keep federal standards as they are — at least in this state.

Senate Democrats unveiled the bills a week after Scott Pruitt — a climate change skeptic — was sworn in to run the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

While California’s policies on the environment typically go beyond what federal regulations require, state lawmakers said there are areas in which California policies rely on the federal groundwork.

For example, the state uses the federal Endangered Species Act to protect orcas, humpback whales, California red-legged frogs and certain other endangered or threatened animals. California also uses federal standards to measure the amount of lead in drinking water.

Under SB49, the state would adopt those currently strong federal regulations as state law. Another bill, SB50, would make it difficult for the Trump administration to sell or transfer any of the nearly 46 million acres of federal lands within California to private developers. A third, SB51, would extend whistle-blower protections.

Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, said the bills would help protect California from Trump’s “alarming” words and actions. California’s Legislature, led by a Democratic supermajority, has positioned itself at the front of the Trump resistance, particularly on threats to the state’s immigration and climate-change policies.

“He denies climate change,” de León said Thursday at a news conference in the park outside the state Capitol. “He wants to dismantle core environmental protections, weaken the EPA and fast-track new fossil-fuel developments on public lands. Congress is racing to roll back landmark protections like the Endangered Species Act. ... We aren’t going to let this administration or any other undermine our progress.”

Republicans were not uniformly opposed to the effort. Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine (San Diego County), said he supports SB50 and believes other Republicans would be eager to vote for it because it’s about states’ rights. He said he may even ask to be a co-author.

“I don’t think the federal government should hold all this land,” he said, “and states should have first dibs.”

But he said the other two bills follow this year’s theme in the Legislature of picking a fight with Trump.

“And we're going to lose,” Anderson said. “Our state can’t go it alone.”

Here are details from the three bills introduced Thursday:

• SB49, by de León and Sen. Henry Stern, D-Canoga Park (Los Angeles County), would make current federal air, climate, water, worker safety and endangered species standards part of state law.

• SB50 by Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, would give the State Lands Commission the right of first refusal if any federal lands in the state are proposed for sale or transfer. Allen said the bill would prohibit county recorders from recording a deed of transfer unless the State Lands Commission verified that the state was first offered the land or allowed to find its own buyer.

“I know people in this state care a great deal about the preservation and protection of public lands,” Allen said.

• SB51 by Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson, D-Santa Barbara, would extend whistle-blower protections to federal lawyers, engineers and scientists who are working in California. The bill would also direct state environmental and public health agencies to preserve information or data, even if federal authorities order it to be censored or destroyed.

“It is shocking to me that we need to pass legislation to protect science,” Jackson said. “Science is there to provide us with facts and realities from which we make policies, not the other way around.”

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Thursday, February 23, 2017 - 16:00

Democratic state senators in California on Thursday unveiled a series of bills designed to freeze in place Obama administration-era environmental regulations in the event the Trump administration moves to weaken them.

The bills, collectively known as the "Preserve California" package, aim to make existing federal clean air, water, and endangered species laws enforceable under state law and protect federal lands in the state from being sold to oil companies.

"The goals and objectives of these measures... is to do everything within our power to make sure the federal government doesn't encroach on our far-reaching progressive policies," California Senate Leader Kevin de Leon said during a press conference in Sacramento on Thursday.

The Trump administration did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the bills.

If the bills become law, they could set the stage for legal battles between the left-leaning state and the conservative Trump administration, which have already clashed over President Donald Trump's policies on immigration.

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