September 22, 2008

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

State Capitol

Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: High-Priority Environmental Bills

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger:

As you face decisions on which 2008 bills to sign or veto, Sierra Club California respectfully submits our recommendations on the most important environmental bills on your desk. We also wish to express our appreciation for your signature on AB 3034, which significantly improved the high-speed rail bond measure on the November ballot, Proposition 1A.

Sierra Club California urges you to sign the following bills:

SB 974 (Lowenthal) – would mitigate air pollution from the ports and increase port efficiency by assessing a fee for each container moving through the ports or Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland.

SB 1113 (Migden) – would restore a court’s authority to, upon motion, award attorney’s fees and costs to a successful party against one or more opposing parties in any action that has resulted in the enforcement of an important right affecting the public interest.

SB 1313 (Corbett) – would ban perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluoroctanoic acid in food packaging, beginning in 2010.

AB 1879 (Feuer/Huffman) – would give the Department of Toxic Substances Control the authority to establish safeguards to protect people and the environment from consumer products containing known toxins like lead, mercury and arsenic.

AB 2347 (Ruskin) – would establish a producer responsibility program for recycling of mercury thermostats.

AB 2447 (Jones) – would ensure that new homes have adequate structural fire protection, without leaving that responsibility to CalFire and the state’s general fund.

AB 2923 (Evans) - requests the Secretary of Resources and State Lands Commission to make wilderness recommendations for state-owned roadless areas that have not been considered for wilderness protection.

AB 2945 (Laird) – would amend the California Wilderness Act to authorize temporary roads and motorized equipment within a wilderness area when necessary in an emergency or if it is the  minimum tool necessary to meet minimum management requirements.  Also would add Limekiln State Wilderness to the list of designated state wilderness areas.

AB 2275 (Fuentes) – would require businesses licensed to bottle water or sell water from a private water source (a primary supply of water for bottling) to report annually the total volume of water bottled or sold, the  source of the water, and the county in which the source is located. 

Sierra Club California urges you to veto one bill:

SB 1473 (Calderon) - would give inappropriately broad authority to the Building Standards Commission (BSC) to develop and adopt the California Green Building Standards Code (CGBSC). This authority would allow the BSC to exclude expert state agencies such as the California Energy Commission, Cal-EPA, State Water Board, Air Resources Board, and Integrated Waste Management Board, which are already working on various aspects of green building.

Sincerely,

Bill Magavern

Director