AB1366 was signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger.
PRESS RELEASE
10/12/2009 GAAS:613:09 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Gov. Schwarzenegger Signs Legislation to Protect Environment, Create Jobs
Furthering his commitment to protecting the environment and the economy, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced he has signed legislation that will reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions and create thousands of new jobs in the state.
“California is a leader in fighting global warming and protecting our environment,” said Governor Schwarzenegger. “And, we are showing the rest of the nation and the world that you can protect the environment and the economy at the same time. That is why I am signing this package of bills – so local economies will benefit from the creation of thousands of new jobs while we continue to lay the groundwork for California to meet our renewable energy and environmental goals.”
The Governor signed the following bills to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs in California:
• AB 1366 by Assemblymember Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) will improve water quality by addressing the problem of excess salinity caused by residential water softeners. The bill gives greater discretion to local water agencies where surface and groundwater supplies are particularly susceptible to salt contamination with additional authority to manage these salt discharges. The bill applies to the South Coast, Central Coast, San Joaquin Valley, Tulare Lake and the lower half of the Sacramento Valley hydrologic regions.
• AB 758 authored by Assemblymember Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles) to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions from buildings and create jobs throughout the state in green construction. Specifically, it requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to establish a regulatory proceeding to develop and implement a comprehensive energy efficiency program for existing residential and nonresidential buildings that will reduce their emissions.
• SB 104 by Senator Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach) to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions in California by directing the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to regulate nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) and possibly other gases found to be at least as harmful as carbon dioxide. A 2008 study by the University of California, Irvine concluded NF3 has a global-warming potential 17,000 times greater than carbon dioxide. The study also indicated that NF3 persists in the atmosphere for centuries.
• AB 881 by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) creating the Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Agency to assist local agencies in Sonoma County to meet greenhouse gas emission reduction goals. The pilot program will allow the Sonoma County Transportation Agency to coordinate with other local public agencies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the county by 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2015.
• SB 827 by Senator Roderick D. Wright (D-Inglewood) that, according to the author, will create 60,000 jobs and $4 billion in economic activity in Southern California by modifying a court ordered moratorium on issuing air credits that has halted thousands of projects in the Southern California region.
• AB 1318 by Assemblymember V. Manuel Perez (D-Coachella) that enables the construction of an ultra-clean burning, natural-gas power plant to complement the production of renewable energy at a 600 megawatt wind energy farm in Riverside County. According to the author of this bill, revenue estimates and economic benefits of this facility alone include $900 million in new investment, the creation of 350 jobs and more revenues for the state.
The Governor also signed AB 920 by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) that will allow electric utility customers who install solar or wind generators on their property to be paid by their electric utility for all the surplus electricity they produce.
Additionally, Governor Schwarzenegger announced he signed two bills that will help improve water quality throughout the state:
• SB 757 by Senator Fran Pavley (D-Santa Monica) to prohibit the sale and installation of lead wheel weights in California. Lead weights have long been used to balance vehicle wheels, but research over the last decade has shown that lead wheel weights falling
