CALL TO IMMEDIATE ACTION! – and a brief report on our September meeting
Kathy 350 Bay Area Action’s Legislative Action Team. Download the powerpoint presentation of Kathy’s excellent talk.
The Tuesday, September 10th, Progressive Democrats of Benicia met and heard featured speaker, Kathy Dervin, Co-Chair of 350 Bay Area Legislative Committee and a consulting professional with a Master of Public Health (MPH) focused in Health Education/Environmental Health.
Kathy presented a compelling overview of pending legislation relating to Climate Change (see bold text below). She also coveredhe Sept. 20 Climate Strike and 350 Bay Area’s work through Youth vs Apocalypse, the youth‐led environmental justice program
URGENT CALL TO ACTION! > With only three days to the close of the California Legislature’s session (now until Sept 13th), everyone is asked to call Assembly member Grayson and Senator Dodd’s office TODAY to advocate for the following bills: (download this list)
BILLS NOW IN ASSEMBLY Call Tim Grayson 925-521-1511
SB 1 (Atkins) SUPPORT Protect Califs Environmental, Health and Worker Safety Laws from Trump Administration roll backs of federal laws that California already administers in state programs under federal authority. (At risk are parts of the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, OSHA and others).
SB 54 (Allen) SUPPORT (Companion bill to AB 1080-see below) This bill (with its companion AB 1080) requires manufacturers and retailers in California to reduce single-use plastic packaging and products by 75 percent by 2030. After 2030, all single-use plastics sold in the state would need to be compostable or recyclable, making plastic resale value sufficient enough to be economically worth recycling.
SB 210 (Leyva) SUPPORT Requires the state Air Resources Board to develop a smog check program for heavy trucks similar to the program that has existed for decades for cars and light trucks. This is a critical air pollution control bill, climate bill (reduces emissions and black carbon) and an important environmental justice bill to protect communities with disproportionate exposure to truck emissions.
Also (lower priority – NOTE – THIS BILL PASSED!) SB 127 (Wiener) SUPPORT Requires Cal Trans to implement its “complete streets” program to support walking and biking infrastructure and protections on “state highways” (like Ashby Ave and San Pablo Ave in Berkeley or Lincoln Ave in SF).
SB 520 (Hertzberg) OPPOSE Would create new obstacles for our CCAs/local clean energy programs in comparison to investor owned utilities.
BILLS NOW IN SENATE Call Bill Dodd 707-551-2389
AB 1080 (Gonzalez) SUPPORT (see companion bill SB 54 above) Reducing single use plastic by 75% by 2030.
Also (lower priority) AB 936 (Rivas) SUPPORT Requires additional state response planning and prevention for oil spills involving non-j/oating oil (tar sands or other heavy oils) which is a particular concern in the Bay Area as area refineries, such as Phillips 66, tries to expand their capacity to take tar sands.
AB 857 (Chiu) SUPPORT Allows local governments to charter local public banks in partnership with “existing local financial institutions” such as credit unions and local community banks so as to increase the lending capacity of the local banking system.
THANKS – CALL NOW! OR SET YOUR ALARM TO CALL TODAY OR TOMORROW!!
I received the notice below from 350 BayArea regarding this proposed legislation. PDB is working with 350 BayArea Action to track climate-change-related bills in the current CA Legislative Session. AB 40 is one of the bills we support and here we are asking for your letters of support to our Assemblymember, Tim Grayson. See more and take action below.
Ralph Dennis, Chair, PDB
From 350 Bay Area Action:
We are all in a key position to make a big difference in fighting climate chaos, because we live in the Assembly district of Tim Grayson – who sits on the Assembly Transportation Committee. The Transportation Committee will be hearing testimony on AB40 very soon.
AB40 would require the State of California Air Resources Board (CARB) to draw up a plan to phase out fossil fuel vehicles by 2040.
AB40 is the successor to AB1745, which came before the Assembly Transportation Committee in 2018, but did not have the votes to move on. AB1745 called for phasing out fossil fuel vehicles by 2040. AB40 takes a two-step approach—first have the CARB develop a feasible plan, and then vote on that plan in 2021.
As climate activists we understand that climate science is telling us that we have to move even faster than the dates that these bills dictate. However, AB40 would give us a foot in the door, and set a clear market signal that we have to eliminate fossil fuel vehicles. Hopefully, this will stimulate automakers to move quickly into making zero emission vehicles (electric or fuel cell).
You can read the full text of AB40 here. Please let us know if you have any questions about AB40 or other ways we can cut greenhouse gases from transportation.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California is offering a workshop, April 7th & 8th, that will train activist to lobby their California legislators.
Spend one day learning about the bills, networking with other activists, and a second day meeting with representatives.
Attendees may register for one or both days. See below.
Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2019, 8:24:28 AM PST Subject: April 7-9: Lobby your lawmakers
Register today before tickets sell out!
Dear [name],
Across California, ACLU activists are working together to build power. And this April, we’re bringing a wave of progressive reform to the State Capitol.
Join us for the ACLU’s 2019 Conference and Lobby Day. This year, we have the chance to expand voting opportunities for thousands of people, pass crucial privacy protections, ensure that people’s reproductive healthcare needs are respected, and protect immigrants and their families from federal government abuse.
ACLU of California
Conference and Lobby Day
Meet up with ACLU activists from across California to bring progressive change to the state capital!
Sunday, April 7 – Monday, April 8 Holiday Inn Capitol Plaza 300 J Street Sacramento, CA 95814
At the conference, you can attend workshops, learn about our bills, network with other activists, and meet your representatives.
The stakes are high, but we have momentum. Last year, hundreds of conference attendees laid the groundwork for landmark legislation that ended 40 years of secret police misconduct. Now, we are returning to demand that our lawmakers put an end to the epidemic of deadly police shootings.
