Senate leaders failed to fix an environmental law rollback for advanced manufacturing, leaving pollution concerns untouched as session ends.
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Each weekday, catch up on the 5 most pressing stories to start your morning in 3 minutes or less.Environmental justice advocates weren’t happy. Because of changes signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, certain developments now are exempt from environmental reviews, which advocates fear will cut out tribal community feedback, threaten endangered species and lead to more pollution for some of the state’s most at-risk residents. Facing backlash, Senate President Pro Tem “That is an issue that we're going to need to continue to focus on in the weeks and months to come before we leave this session in September,” McGuire He’s now run out of time. With just hours until the legislative session ends, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Assembly SpeakerState lawmakers unveil bill that would put new limits on LA’s hotly debated ‘mansion tax’ “This is a complex policy issue, and we must get right for Californians,” said Nick Miller, a spokesperson for Rivas, when asked why the talks stalled. “Our assessment is it needs to go through a public process with input and discussion.” The differences laid bare the growing rift between the pro-development Assembly, which has pushed to cut red tape to build more housing faster, and the Senate, which has been more skeptical about private development without labor and environmental protections. The lack of progress has angered environmental justice advocates and lawmakers, who said the leaders failed to make good on their promises., a Hayward Democrat who was among 35 lawmakers to urge legislative leaders to fix the law in August. “Several of us have asked to have this fixed, and we were told that it was going to get fixed, and now we're here and we're told that it's not.”to implement the June updates with minimal changes. But the Senate’s budget committee shelved the bill Wednesday amid senators’ criticism that it didn’t go far enough to regulate pollution, and environmental groups called the bill “premature and harmful.”to reinstate environmental review requirements for some high-polluting manufacturing plants within 300 feet of homes and schools, despite knowing it did not have time to pass this year.“We thought it was really important for the public to see that when we made that commitment, we meant it. That we were not just talking about it,” said Senate Budget Committee Chair, a San Francisco Democrat and a major champion of the environmental review exemptions and housing construction. “We would prefer to do it now, but we need a three-party agreement to do anything.” That going-nowhere proposal did not satisfy environmental groups. High-polluting plants have the potential to harm residents far beyond 300 feet, which amounts to half a city block, said Asha Sharma, state policy manager for Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.that largely reflected what environmental groups say they want. The proposal would restore environmental scrutiny for projects like hotels and resorts, developments on habitats for protected species and most advanced manufacturing plants.The June update exempts “advanced manufacturing” facilities such as hydrogen production facilities, plastic recycling facilities and lithium mining sites from environmental reviews as long as they are located in industrial zones and not on protected lands.Environmental justice groups say restoring environmental reviews for projects like these is a priority because those facilities are some of the most hazardous and polluting facilities and are often located near low-income communities of color. The environmental review process typically is the only chance residents get to voice concerns about developments near their homes, Sharma said. Some lawmakers said that’s why they won’t vote this week for the budget bill to allocate money to implement the June reform. Sen.“Most of us thought: ‘Why would we possibly want to vote for this bill … when the commitments in terms of cleanup legislation haven’t been met?'” he told CalMatters.The stifled effort contrasts how quickly California’s top Democrats scaled back the environmental rules in June. The governor at the time threatened to reject the state budget if the deal did not come through. The rollback was tucked into budget trailer bills — a tool leaders increasingly have used to rush major policies through with little public scrutiny. “That is so ironic because apparently it was totally fine to jam everyone on an exemption for advanced manufacturing … but God forbid you rush a cleanup bill,” said Kim Delfino, an environmental attorney and founder of Earth Advocacy.“It was rammed down everyone’s throats,” Allen said. “It’s probably why we feel the need to push back on this particular issue because … this was a particularly aggressive and out-of-whack set of changes.” “I continue to be extremely disappointed with anyone who takes advantage of this notion that delay gives leverage,” said Assemblymembera Chula Vista Democrat, said he grew up next to a manufacturing plant and suffers from asthma to this day. “It needs to be addressed immediately. … We are not in the 1970s and ‘80s anymore,” he said in a hearing Thursday.The union representing the restaurant's workers announced Tuesday that The Pantry will welcome back patrons after suddenly shutting down six months ago.Big Bear housing project proposal reignites habitat concerns among bald eagle fans If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake.The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.Judge rules against Huntington Beach in latest battle over library 'culture wars' Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.Transportation and MobilityThousands of once-secret police records are now public. Here’s how you can use themLA’s legal cannabis owners say multi-million dollar program to give them a hand up, instead left ‘complete debt and devastation’
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