Consensus: cap-and-trade extension requires a two-thirds legislative vote
The California Supreme Court recently declined to review the 2-1 split decisionby the Appellate Court, which ruled that California’s current cap-and-trade auction is not a tax requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature. The legislative authorization for the current cap-and-trade auction was adopted in 2006 with the passage of AB 32, which authorized the cap-and-trade program through 2020. […]
Excessive Climate Policies Could Damage California Economy
The topic of climate change, or anthropogenic global warming (AGW), has somehow been linked – directly or indirectly – with nearly every policy area debated at the State Capitol. While I am not a scientist, I recognize there are many differing views on what the climate-related scientific research actually means. I have been and continue […]
Making a Deal on California’s Cap and Trade: It’s All About the Cap
California politicians are deep into negotiations over how to extend the backbone of the state’s climate policies, the cap-and-trade program. The Governor’s office and legislative leadership are nearing a compromise that can lock in the 2/3 vote that would provide the strongest legal foundation for a future cap-and-trade program and accelerate the state’s progress to […]
Cap and Trade – Corporate Shell Games and Environmentalist Chest-Beating
In 2006 on virtually a party line vote, the Democrat controlled Legislature passed Assembly Bill 32, the pompous sounding “California Global Warming Solutions Act.” Then-Governor Schwarzenegger, who often commuted daily in a private jet from Los Angeles to Sacramento, signed AB 32, hypocritically stating it was “a bold new era of environmental protection.” To implement AB […]
Lobbyists Checking the Personal Info Boxes is Wrong
The Bee’s Taryn Luna reports that the heads of six legislative caucuses to ask for the race and sexual orientation of lobbyists.This is wrong. Can I say it again? It is wrong even if “voluntary.” For those of us in the Capitol community, we know of many people who have different sexual orientations and that changes […]