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The Citizens Redistricting Commission has released their first draft maps of redrawn Senate, Assembly and Board of Equalization districts. Created by Californians who voted for it in a 2008 ballot measure, the five Democrats, five Republicans and four “decline to state” voters on the Commission have been tasked with the job once held by lawmakers every ten years. Legislators often came under fire when drawing district lines as for fear such a process would necessarily protect incumbents from any political challenges.
The release of the first draft of redrawn redistrict lines comes just days before the June 15th budget deal deadline, and has many wondering what impact (if any) redistricting will have on the budget logjam Californians have grown used to in recent years. While Republicans have typically put their foot down on tax hikes and Democrats have stayed adamant about limiting spending cuts, the $10 billion deficit slated to follow us into the nest fiscal year could change based on the lines drawn. Will members whose districts have been redrawn to be more competitive now find themselves breaking party lines over the budget in order to keep their seat as their constituency base changes? Only time will tell…and, as always, the Planning and Conservation League will keep you posted on any developments regarding the budget or redistricting that may impact environmental decisions made in the Capitol.
After nearly four years at the Planning and Conservation League, Traci Sheehan Van Thull leaves PCL to spend more time with family in the near-term and hopefully transition into exciting new opportunities come Fall. Since 2007 Traci has served as Chief Operating Officer and then Executive Director of both the League and PCL Foundation. In her tenure here, she led the charge to protect state parks, defend the integrity of the California Environmental Quality Act, worked to make our cities more walkable and bikeable and ensured our grassroots allies have a voice in the Capitol.
While we are sad to see her go, we are extremely grateful for the hard work and energy Traci has brought to PCL, and we wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors. Bruce Reznik has taken the helm from Traci to continue building upon the organizations’ 45 years of environmental advocacy and education.
Today marks the legislative deadline for all bills introduced this year to move out of their first house. That means all bills introduced in the Assembly had to pass out of the Assembly and those introduced in the Senate had to pass out of the Senate.
This week Legislators passed bills that reduce waste in our landfills, protect and improve drinking water quality, ensure there is no net loss of state park lands and legislation that would eliminate carcinogenic polystyrene in take-out containers. Bills passed to allow public access to information regarding the chemicals used in oil fracking, water well logs, and the prime groundwater recharge areas in the state. Below are a few of the highlights of the bills still alive half-way through the legislative session. To read the full list of environmental victories click here.
AB 341 (Chesbro) – Bill presents a package of policies that will move California forward from land filling to waste reduction, recycling, and composting, by setting a statewide diversion goal of 75% and finally expanding recycling opportunities to the state’s largest underserved sectors: businesses and apartment buildings.
AB 359 (Huffman) – Bill promotes the management and protection of the state’s groundwater supplies by requiring, as a condition of receiving a state grants or loans, local water agencies to map the recharge areas that substantially contribute to the replenishment of the groundwater basin. The bill also requires local groundwater agencies to submit recharge maps to local planning agencies and expand public notification when preparing and approving groundwater plans.
AB 703 (Gordon) – This bill would continue a 40-year legislative legacy of providing property tax incentives for non-profit ownership and stewardship of open-space and park lands. Lands benefiting from the current exemption complement existing local, state, and federal park lands, and they do so without drawing upon scarce public funds. They are managed solely by non-profit organizations to achieve lasting and cost-effective benefits to the public.
SB 244 (Wolk) - This bill, seeks to provide underserved communities with basic needs such as clean drinking water and adequate sewage disposal by requiring that cities and counties indentify and include unincorporated island, fringe, or legacy communities in their plans, data and analysis, goals, and implementation measures. This bill, along with AB 685 (Eng), AB 938 (V. Manuel Pérez), AB 983 (Perea), and AB 1221 (Alejo) are the Human Right to Water bills still active this session.
SB 517 (Lowenthal) – Bill would reorder the High-Speed Rail Authority in order to establish a well-informed body that is more accountable to the state of California. In addition to other revisions, this bill would place the Authority within the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency and require the members of the authority appointed by the Governor to be appointed with the advice and consent of the Senate. (PCL Lead Sponsor)
SB 535 (De León) – This bill establishes the CA Communities Healthy Air Revitalization Trust. The Trust ensures we meet the promise of AB 32 to protect and strengthen CA’s most disadvantaged communities by providing these communities with AB 32-related green economic investments. Does NOT authorize a new tax or fee, rather it directs 10 cents of each AB 32 revenue dollar in the neighborhoods which will suffer first and worst from the climate crisis.
SB 568 (Lowenthal) - Bill would eliminate polystyrene foam food take-out containers state-wide, thereby reducing public and worker exposure to Styrene, a carcinogen in lab animals that migrates from foam containers into food and beverages.
SB 580 (Wolk) – Bill establishes strong protections for state parks and advances a principle of “no net loss” of state park lands. If a situation arises that pits state parks against another competing public interest, this bill would ensure there is no net loss of park resources for theCalifornia public.
