Sacramento – The statewide environmental organization, Environment California, released their end-of-session watch list for top priority environmental bills and called on California’s elected officials to make 2007 a good year for the environment.
“There many important, and in some cases historic, bills still pending passage by the legislature or awaiting a signature by the governor,” said Dan Jacobson, legislative director for Environment California, a non-profit, non-partisan environmental advocacy group with nearly 75,000 members statewide. “With the clock winding down for 2007, lawmakers can still act to protect California’s one-of-a-kind environment with innovative and effective laws."
Environment California’s priority watch list includes:
The Solar Water Heating and Efficiency Act of 2007 (AB 1470 – Huffman): This bill will create a first-in-the nation program to make solar water heating technologies mainstream. Similar to the Million Solar Roofs bill from 2006 (SB 1-Murray), AB 1470 will create a 10-year rebate program to encourage consumers to invest in solar water heating to reduce natural gas use, cut global warming pollution and save ratepayers money.
The Toxic Use Reduction Act of 2007 (AB 558 – Feuer): This bill will require users of toxic chemicals for the first time to report the chemicals they use and the quantities in which they use them. Companies using large amounts of toxic chemicals will also be required to develop a plan to account for their use of those toxics.
This bill will require the California Air Resources Board (ARB) to create a low carbon fuel standard to reduce the global warming intensity of fuels by at least 10% by 2020. This bill is critical to ensuring that California protects against climate change while improving air quality and preserving the environment for future generations.
Toxic Toys (AB 1108 – Ma): This bill will ban the use of phthalates from products intended for kids under the age of three. This bill mimics rules and regulations in the European Union and 14 countries on the use of dangerous chemicals in children’s toys. [AB 1108 has passed the legislature and is awaiting the governor’s signature.]
Ban Plastic Resin Pellets (AB 258 – Krekorian): This bill will protect marine environments by reducing the amount of preproduction plastic that enters the ocean.
Other bills of interest for Environment California include: AB 514 (Lieber), AB 515 (Lieber), SB 456 (Simitian), AB 576 (Carter), AB 118 (Núñez), SB 719 Machado.
