AB32 Crisis

Why should we worry about Assembly Bill 32 (California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006)? This bill was passed and signed into law by the Governor 4 years ago. It hasn’t affected me in the slightest, so why should I get involved? Besides, I have things to do, places to go and people to see. This sounds all too familiar to those of us who fight for the rights of the uninformed. They are uninformed by choice and that’s ok, but not when they vote for politicians who craft and pass a bill as dangerous to our way of life as this one. Remember that the liberal, progressive Democrats have been in control of the California Legislature for more that 40 years. They own the current problems that face this state, including AB32. Here is the answer to a couple of the above questions as to why you should worry.

First the main emphasis of this Bill will go into effect in 2011 (9 months from now). Secondly it will cost businesses over $49,000 per year and homeowners more than $3800 per year. Tell me, do you want to give another $3800 of your dollars away to an unproven theory? I don’t. And who do you think will pay for that $49,000 businesses will incur? The consumer; that’s you and me. It’s called “cost adjustment”. Bear in mind that the government has no money but that which they take from us. It’s called taxes and fees. Both the State Government and the Federal Government feed from the same trough and we are the ones that fill that trough with our hard earned dollars. I know of a few elected officials that work hard, but none of them work as hard as you or I do and they generally get paid a lot more than we do. Remember, also, as my friend Thom said, “they work for us and not the other way around”. We must balance our budgets every month or work harder and produce more. Our politicians just go to that trough again for more money.

AB32 is only a 17-page document and I urge you to go on the Internet and print yourself a copy(www.arb.ca.gov/cc/docs/ab32text.pdf). One of the first things you should notice is that it is a State mandated local program with no reimbursement to the local governments (page 3). This means that local governments must tighten their belts to comply or come up with new taxes or fees to cover their costs. You pay for this and the State doesn’t have to feel the bite of their actions. Note please that counties receive about 14 cents on the tax dollar to run the county. Next is the authority given to the California Air Resources Board (CARB from here on). CARB is empowered to make the rules and regulations needed to achieve the goal of reducing Green House Gases from the current level to the 1990 level by 2020. Furthermore, they are authorized to require reporting and verification of that reporting of statewide Green House Gases from the sources. And finally they are empowered to monitor and enforce the rules, regulations and reporting and they set the fees or fines for the infringements (page 2).

What a money making deal this is. CARB has all the government factions; legislative, judicial, enforcement and sentencing all in one place. Don’t get on the wrong side of CARB on this one. Third, this bill is all about money (page 4). California seems to believe that by enacting this program it will be at the “forefront of national and international efforts to reduce emissions of greenhouse gasses”. Accordingly it’s predicted that such action will positively effect our “economy, technology centers, financial institutions and businesses.” California hopes to make a bundle from new green businesses coming into the state which according to one local writer could be as many as 112,000 by the year 2020. I’m sure that will make up for the 650,000 manufacturing businesses that have thus far left California for greener pastures (pun intended) according to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. Then you must ask yourself why would a green business settle in California with all its unfriendly business regulations when it could go to Nevada, produce the same product and make a larger profit? If you will recall, most businesses have a profit motive.

Still, you’re not convinced as to why you should get involved. Chapter 3 is all about definitions and most are scary, but one in particular caught my eye (page 6i). “Greenhouse gas emission source”; this can be “any source or category of sources”. I think this could include you and me and our house and our car and our lifestyle. What do you think? Right now CARB is targeting businesses, transportation, and greenhouse gases from all electricity consumed in the state. The big ones first. Transportation is not just your buses and businesses are not just your big factories. Diesel engines are one of the main focuses and those are used in all of our transportation forms, whether they are transporting people or goods. Diesel engine refits or upgrades can cost between $20,000 and $80,000 per vehicle and that cost is passed on to you and me the consumer. This is not just the big trucking company, this could be the local backhoe operator, the independent logger, moving company, and farmer or as I stated before, in definitions, “any source” including the small home business. Any small business can be that source and, as such must report all its greenhouse emissions to CARB who will then verify that the reporting is accurate (page 7). In the case that CARB finds inaccuracies, enforcement and fines apply. The fines are set by CARB.

With the governor and legislature’s approval, the California Air Resources Board has become a self-supporting money-making organization with little or no oversight. With a little, if any needed, extrapolation, AB32 can be extended to any and all of us, controlling where we live, how big our house is, how we travel, where we shop, and on and on. There is a companion Bill to AB32 and that is SB375 (www.arb.ca.gov/cc/sb375/sb375.htm) passed by the legislature in 2008. SB375 deals with zoning and land use, automobiles, right down to the community level (page 1&2). Specifically it speaks of walkable and sustainable communities, individual homeowners’ greenhouse gas emissions, type of travel, building sites, housing needs based on income, open space, conservation easements and a bundle of other measures that, in fact, restrict the land area that can be developed in the future. The plan is renewable every five years and only contains policy mandates on local planning.

The two Bills represent everything we have feared from our government. Together they continually reduce the amount of land that is capable of being developed through mandated policy on local General Plans, Conservation easements, Zoning and other regional land use policy. The greenhouse gas emissions controlled in AB32 are directly applied to homeowners in SB375. If these Bills are allowed to stand, our whole way of life and that of our children and grandchildren will change and country living will be a thing of the past except for the few that manage to live on farms. Once our mobility, food supply, water supply along with our housing choices are controlled by government there will be very little we can do to correct the situation.

We cannot let this happen. Not now, not ever. There is an initiative petition called the “CA Jobs Initiative” that puts AB32 on hold until the state unemployment rate holds at 5.5% for one year. It is a must that you seek out and sign this petition and get it on the November ballot for passage. When the Governor signed AB32 California’s unemployment rate was 4.8%. Now four years later it is 12.7% and shows no signs of declining. Businesses are leaving our state, people are leaving our state, taxes and out of control spending are going up and, according to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, we currently have a rolling $20 billion deficit for the next 5 years. We must band together and stop this nightmare here in our state. There is a saying that as California goes, so goes the nation. Exporting any part of either AB32 or SB375 would be a terrible legacy for the people of California. Get the Bills, read the Bills and join us in turning back this tide.