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Trust me—you really don’t know what you’re missing.

Clean the CARB Campaign

I haven’t updated this site in ages, since the legislation described is now moot (nothing like it passed).

But here is some more recent information I have collected:

According to a caller to Wattenburg’s show, information on the number of car fires (possibly caused by MTBE) may be obtained by contacting the California Department of Transportation, Accident Records Division. They gather and report all CHP-reported car accidents. Look in the section recorded as non-collision car fires.

Action quote from Calif. State Senator Ray Haynes:: “Nobody oppose clean air. We simply oppose an over-burdensome government.”;

Campaign Status: Phase 1: We are currently discussing what changes need to be made to the bill. You can read my ideas.
Current Task: Language requiring legislative approval of CARB regulations.
News Flash: The Transportation Committee just passed SB 42, which would create a rolling 25-year window of exemption for old cars.
Dick Monteith (R-Modesto) once introduced a bill (SB 178) to require that good science be used by all state regulatory boards. [summary]

What’s Wrong with Smog Check II

What’s Wrong with the Reformulated Gas

Help with a Bill to Fix Smog Check II!

There is a real, live bill in the California Senate (by Senator Ray Haynes), but the bill’s author and I need your help to make sure the bill does what the concerned citizens want done. This site is going to be used to organize the effort to make sure that it is well-written and that it actually gets passed. This will be a difficult task, but we’ll take it one step at time. First up is to make sure the text of the current bill is changed to reflect our views.

First, read the bill. Decide what you do and don’t like about it, and if there is anything missing. If you think the bill stinks, don’t blame Senator Haynes (there are some rather interesting politics in how bills are introduced), help him fix it.

You can keep up to date with what’s happening here, and by following the links below. On the bill’s homepage, you will find a form you can fill out to subscribe to another mailing list (receive-only) that will notify you of each change in the bill’s status.

Senate Bill 61 Information

SB 61 HomePage—Official Senate Site

History of the campaign

My original goal was to have some impact on the November 1996 California State elections, so that we could elect a majority of members who would support common-sense environmental legislation and actions. No such luck—we’re now actually worse off than before. But one incumbent Senator did take notice. State Senator Ray Haynes noticed my efforts, and decided to introduce legislation based on the ideas contained in my original proposal. After merging his ideas with mine, Senator Haynes submitted the legislation to the state Legislative Analyst, and the result was SB 61. But the bill is far from perfect (it came back from the Analyst’s office with a bunch of eco-freak language in it, apparently).

So now, along with the support of Senator Haynes and his staffers, this site will help to rewrite the legislation so that it embodies the goals set out in my original effort and those desired by you, the citizens of California, this site will now be used to coordinate efforts to craft and pass SB 61. Please join the effort, and feel free to contribute in any way you desire.

The Chronological History of the bill:

Original Bill and Petition: This is my original proposed legislation. It was drafted fairly hurriedly, in the closing month of the ’96 elections. My original goal was to convince candidates for the California State legislature to pledge their support of the bill, in exchange for an endorsement. Though only one candidate (Ted Laliotis) signed on (and didn’t win), the bill is a reality now.

What’s Next:

Help Senator Haynes rewrite the language in the bill to have the results originally intended. Post your ideas to the mailing list, and read some of my suggested ideas.
Help get the bill out of the committees (unharmed!) it must pass through. First committee it will likely be assigned to: Senator Quentin Kopp’s Transportation Committee.
Lobby all of the Senators to vote in favor of the bill.
Repeat step 2 in the Assembly.
Repeat step 3 in the Assembly.
Convince the Governor to sign the bill (this may be the hardest part of all, unfortunately).
Wait for the bill to take effect (most likely, on Jan. 1 of the year following passage, unless we can get a 2/3 supper-majority vote in favor, which would allow us to attach a clause making the bill effective immediately upon the Governor’s signature.

There’s a lot of work in those few steps above, so this is going to be a long battle. Stick with us!

New: Read the SMOG Glossary to understand what all those terms and acronyms mean.

Read some of the recent news stories relating to Smog Check II and the reformulated gasoline problems.

The California Air Resources Board

All sorts of information about the board. Find out who is on the board, how the board operates, and what they’re up to.

Even More Information

Other Friendly Sites: Tons of other sites that share my concerns.
Friends of PushBack: I’m compiling a list of other organizations that have formed to fight Smog Check II and the new gasoline. If you know of one not listed here, please let me know.
Friendly Broadcast Media: This is a listing of radio and television stations which are helping fight Smog Check II.
Further Reading: Tons of links to articles and other information relating to CARB, Smog Check II, and reformulated gasoline.
Technical Information Relating to CARB: Links to legislation and other information that I’ve been using to research background information for revising my bill.

This page was last modified on Monday, 11-Oct-2004 18:56:18 PDT.