Today, Democrat Senate President Don Perata damaged his own (waning) credibility with the Capitol Press Corps by, frankly, saying something that simply was untrue. He held a press conference and told assembled reporters that Republican Senators want to rewrite California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) regulations.
Senate Republican Leader Dick Ackerman was forced to respond and set the record straight…
Like many Californians, Senate Republicans believe that compliance with CEQA regulations can be burdensome and expensive. For many years we have supported long overdue reforms, but at no point have we suggested in budget negotiations that CEQA should be overturned. Instead, we have called for a reasonable limit to the deliberate use of premature and frivolous lawsuits to bog down vital infrastructure construction in California.
Our Senate Republican proposal states that outside groups – including the Attorney General and special interest groups – would not be able to sue under CEQA for failing to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, until the ARB adopts regulations in 2011, in accordance with Assembly Bill 32.
Attorney General Jerry Brown has threatened to file lawsuits, and has sued counties, infrastructure projects, and new housing projects under CEQA for failing to mitigate green house gas emissions. These suits have been filed despite the fact that the regulations have not even been adopted.
If the Attorney General’s efforts are successful, millions of taxpayer dollars intended for roads, schools, parks, and clean water projects will instead be spent on studies, consultants, reports, and litigation.
Last year the infrastructure bond package passed the legislature with the promise of making a historical investment in California’s future. Unfortunately, Attorney General Brown is using his office’s litigation power to advance his political agenda at the expense of the housing, transportation, and energy needs of our growing state.
Attorney General Jerry Brown has threatened to file lawsuits, and has sued counties, infrastructure projects, and new housing projects under CEQA for failing to mitigate green house gas emissions. These suits have been filed despite the fact that the regulations have not even been adopted.
If the Attorney General’s efforts are successful, millions of taxpayer dollars intended for roads, schools, parks, and clean water projects will instead be spent on studies, consultants, reports, and litigation.
Last year the infrastructure bond package passed the legislature with the promise of making a historical investment in California’s future. Unfortunately, Attorney General Brown is using his office’s litigation power to advance his political agenda at the expense of the housing, transportation, and energy needs of our growing state.
Also, we heard from State Senator Bob Dutton, who has been a point person for Senate Republicans on this important issue, who said:
There are billions of dollars worth of projects in this budget that are in jeopardy of unwarranted lawsuits if we don’t get some sort of litigation fix. We are not calling for the suspension of CEQA for three years as Senator Perata said during his press conference. Rather, we are asking that no lawsuit can be filed for greenhouse gas deficiencies under CEQA until the regulations are written. It’s a simple fix that ensures taxpayer dollars are spent the way they are intended.