PCL Insider: News from the Capitol

OBAMA SIGNS LARGEST WILDERNESS EXPANSION IN 15 YEARS; CALIFORNIA BIG WINNER

On Monday, President Obama signed the Omnibus lands protection bill passed by Congress last week. The massive measure adds 2 million acres to the country's wilderness system.  That means that in his first two months in office, President Obama has set aside almost as much wilderness land as George W. Bush's did during his eight-year presidency. 

The new wilderness areas are located in nine states, including about 700,000 acres in California. The additional acres in California are found in the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County, the Eastern Sierra, Riverside County, including parts of Joshua Tree National Park, and Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks.

Under the Wilderness Act of 1964, a wilderness designation affords the highest level of protection against commercial uses, such as logging and mining, of all the federal lands. About 14 million acres of wilderness were already protected in California. This expansion in the wilderness system is the largest in 15 years, spurring environmentalists to push for further wilderness expansion under the Obama administration.

All of California's Democratic representatives, as well as Republicans Mary Bono Mack and Buck McKeon, supported the bill. Kudos for their bold leadership!

33% OR BUST: MANDATE FOR MORE RENEWABLE POWER ADVANCING THROUGH STATE LEGISLATURE

This week the California Legislature advanced two bills to increase the percentage of clean, renewable energy used in the state to at least 33% by 2020.

On Tuesday, the full Senate voted to support SB 14 by Senators Simitian, Kehoe, Padilla, and Senate President pro Tem Steinberg. The bill now begins its journey though the Assembly. On Wednesday, the Assembly Utilities and Commerce committee voted in favor of AB 64 by Assemblymember Krekorian and Assembly Speaker Bass, sending the bill to the Assembly Natural Resources committee.

Current law requires 20% of electricity used by private utilities to come from renewable sources by 2010. Both bills increase the requirement to 33% for both private and publicly owned utilities, though they differ in many other details.

Governor Schwarzenegger has been calling for a 33% mandate and the California Air Resources Board included an expectation of such a requirement in the AB 32 Scoping Plan to help reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. In November of last year, legislative leaders predicted that they would finalize a bill in the first 90 days of the 2009 session.

We're very excited to see both the Senate and Assembly moving aggressively to pursue the 33% mandate. It's good news for our environment, public health, and our burgeoning green economy. And, as a new national survey prepared by researchers at Yale and George Mason Universities shows, the country is begging for bold action in the fight against global warming.

We also realize that legislators still have a lot of work to do to make sure that the final policy is strong, effective, and free of loopholes. For example, both bills currently contemplate various exemptions that could short-circuit the program and the penalties for non-compliance may not be strong enough to keep bad actors from misbehaving.

Stay tuned for more updates as these bills work their way through the lengthy legislative process!

REGISTER FOR SIERRA LAND USE SUMMIT: HARNESSING NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR POSITIVE CHANGE

Join the Sierra Nevada Alliance and co-hosts, Sierra Business Council and Planning and Conservation League, for the 2009 Sierra Land Summit, a day-long series of presentations covering new opportunities and incentives for more efficient planning in the Sierra.

Special topics this year include updates on climate change legislation, funding opportunities for smart growth, and the future of water and wastewater infrastructure in rural areas. This annual event attracts community leaders, land use planners and policymakers, local government officials, agency staff and interested citizens.

June 12, 2009

9 am to 4:30 pm

Sierra Health Foundation

132 Garden Hwy. Sacramento, CA 95833

The Summit is FREE, but registration is required. For more information contact Patricia Hickson at (530) 542-4546x313 or patricia@sierranevadaalliance.org.