Press Release
October 11, 2011
Contact: Jenesse Miller, CLCV (510-844-0235)
California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) Applauds Governor Brown’s Signature on Pro-Environment Bills
OAKLAND & LOS ANGELES, Calif. (October 10, 2011) – The California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV)—the political arm of the environmental movement in California—applauded Governor Jerry Brown’s decision to sign several important pro-environment bills into law over the weekend. The governor’s decisions on these bills come on the heels of signing other priority bills including those that protect babies and toddlers from a toxic chemical, help keep state parks open, and help protect shark populations—all environmental bills championed by CLCV.
“Dozens of environment, public health and environmental justice organizations worked with legislators, rallied their grassroots members and joined forces to help these and other bills become law,” said CLCV Chief Executive Officer Warner Chabot. “The question: ‘What do sharks, parks, and babies have in common?’ may sound like the start of a bad joke. But environmental advocates are smiling because while the governor has almost singularly focused on the state budget, he recognizes that a healthy, clean environment and a strong California economy go hand-in-hand—signing bills that will help protect babies, sharks and parks, establish a human right to clean water, transition our state to more use of clean, renewable energy, and much, much more.”
In addition to signing multiple pro-environment bills, Governor Brown signed a bill last week to allow online voter registration in California. CLCV supported the bill, SB 397 for its potential to foster more voter participation in the democratic process, which the organization believes will lead to even more critical gains for the state’s environment and public health.
Many of the bills signed by the governor will be included in CLCV’s upcoming California Environmental Scorecard, which rates the actions of every state legislator and the governor on the state’s environmental priorities each legislative year.
“With the governor’s signature on these bills, California’s environment, its public health and its people have scored several important victories in the 2011 legislative session,” said CLCV Board Chair Rick Zbur. “CLCV will continue to work closely with our allies in the legislature next year on pro-environment legislation, while also working to elect and re-elect environmental champions to the state Senate and Assembly in 2012. These leaders will be critical to the movement to build a greener California for future generations.”
“The governor’s decisions over the weekend to sign numerous pro-environment bills provide a silver lining to the dark cloud of a tough year for the environment, when radical anti-environment legislators at both the state and federal level tried to roll back common-sense health and safety protections and safeguards,” said Chabot. “Over the next 12 months, CLCV will focus our energy on key California elections where the conservation vote will make a difference between electing a friend or foe of environmental protection and progress.”
Pro-environment bills supported by CLCV and signed by Governor Brown in 2011 include:
- AB 42 (Huffman): Helping Keep State Parks Open
- AB 376 (Fong, Huffman): Ban on Sale & Possession of Shark Fins
- AB 703 (Gordon): Preserving Tax Incentives for Open-Space and Parks
- AB 1112 (Huffman): Oil Spill Prevention and Administration Fee
- AB 1150 (V. Manuel Pérez): Self-Generation Incentive Program
- AB 1221 (Alejo): Human Right to Clean Water
- AB 1319 (Butler): Ban on Bisphenol-A in Baby Bottles & Sippy Cups
- SB 2X (Simitian): Use of Renewable Energy
- SB 397 (Yee): Online Voter Registration
- SB 454 (Pavley): Energy Efficiency Standards Enforcement
ABOUT CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL VOTERS
California Environmental Voters (formerly the California League of Conservation Voters) believes the climate crisis is here and this moment requires transformative change. California has the policy solutions to stop climate change but lacks the political will to do it at the rate and scale that’s necessary. EnviroVoters exists to build the political power to solve the climate crisis, advance justice, and create a roadmap for global action. We organize voters, elect and train candidates, and hold lawmakers accountable for bold policy change. We won’t stop until we have resilient, healthy, thriving communities, and a democracy and economy that is just and sustainable for all. Join us at www.envirovoters.org and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. See more press releases.
