Sierra Club California 2019 Legislative Report Card Overview

  • Posted on 7 November 2019
  • By Chris Hendrickson/Sharon Koch/John Monsen/Magda Mendez

Every autumn, Sierra Club California staff review legislators' voting records for the year on bills affecting the environment. The 2019 Legislative Report Card rates the overall voting records of California Assembly and Senate Members on key environmental legislation. Overall, there was a remarkable increase in those who scored 100%. It is very encouraging to see that almost half (34/80) of those elected to the State Assembly and about a quarter (9/40) of those elected to the State Senate are voting consistently for the environment. Several senators were misaligned with the Sierra Club’s recommendation to vote no on SB 25 (See bill summaries below), which was a factor in the lower Senate scores. The Assembly did not vote on SB 25. Below are some of the ratings for legislators in the Angeles Chapter region which encompasses Los Angeles County and Orange County.

 

“100%” (Assembly)

  • Richard H Bloom (D-50)
  • Ian Calderon (D-57)
  • Wendy Carillo (D-51)
  • Ed Chau (D-49)
  • Jesse Gabriel (D-45)
  • Cristina Garcia (D-58)
  • Chris Holden (D-41)
  • Jones-Sawyer, Sr (D-59)
  • Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-54)
  • Al Muratsuchi (D-66)
  • Anthony Rendon (D-63)
  • Luz M. Rivas (D-39)
  • Miguel Santiago (D-53)
  • Christy Smith (D-38)

“100%” (Senate)

  • Lena A, Gonzalez (D-33) 
  • Connie M. Leyva (D-20)
  • Holly J Mitchell (D-30)
  • Henry Stern (D-27)

“80% or Above” (Assembly)

  • Autumn R. Burke (D-62) (91%)
  • Laura Friedman (D-43) (91%)
  • Jacquie Irwin (D-44) (82%)
  • Adrin Nazarian (D-46) (91%)
  • Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-74) (91%)

“80% or Above” (Senate)

  • Autumn R. Burke (D-62) (91%)

    • Laura Friedman (D-43) (91%)
    • Jacquie Irwin (D-44) (82%)
    • Adrin Nazarian (D-46) (91%)
    • Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-74) (91%)
    Those with scores lower than 80% tended to have more than two or three marks of “NV-” which indicates that the legislator was present but chose not to cast a vote in support of a pro-environment bill. 
     
    There are legislators who have consistently voted against the environment. Several of those are located within the Angeles Chapter region: 
     

    “Below 80%” (Assembly)

    • Phillip Chen (R-55) (0%)
    • Steven Choi (R-68) (9%)
    • Tom Daly (D-69) (55%)
    • Tyler Diep (R-72) (36%)
    • Mike A. Gipson (D-64) (73%)
    • Tom Lackey (R-36) (18%)
    • Patrick O’Donnell (D-70) (73%)
    • Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-65) (55%)
    • Freddie Rodriguez (D-52) (64%)
    • Blanca E. Rubio (D-48) (45%)
    • William P. Brough (R-73) (10%)

    “Below 80%” (Senate)

    • Patricia C. Bates (R-36) (8%)
    • Steven Bradford (D-35) (75%)
    • Ling Ling Chang (R-29) (17%)
    • John M.W. Moorlach (R-37) (8%)
    • Susan Rubio (D-22) (67%)
    • Scott T. Wilk (R-21) (25%)
    Sierra Club California policy advocates also select the bills that appear on the report card. The scorecard bills reflect just a fraction of the bills that Sierra Club California staff, guided by its volunteer leaders, take positions on and lobby for each year. Sierra Club California policy advocates selected 6 bills originating in the Assembly and 7 Senate bills to include in this year’s report card.  
     
    The selection of the bills is based on factors that include a bill’s overall importance to the state’s environmental quality, the precedent it sets for good or bad impacts, and the bill’s importance to fulfilling the Club’s mission. 
     

    “2019 Bill Summaries”

    Assembly Bill 5 (Gonzalez) Worker status: employees and independent contractors. SUPPORT: Signed.
     
    Assembly Bill 35 (Kalra) Worker safety: blood lead levels: reporting. SUPPORT: Signed.
     
    Assembly Bill 342 (Muratsuchi) Public lands: leasing: oil and gas: prohibition. SUPPORT: Signed.
     
    Assembly Bill 1080 (Gonzalez) Solid waste: packaging and products. Companion Bill to SB 54. SUPPORT: Passed in Assembly; converted to a two-year bill in Senate.
     
    Assembly Bill 1086 (Bauer-Kahan) Would have resolved a decades-long dispute by allowing the State Department of Parks and Recreation to sell the Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area to local entities that intend to preserve the area for passive recreation. SUPPORT: Vetoed.
     
    Assembly Bill 1680 (Limón) Off-highway vehicular recreation: Carnegie State Vehicular Recreation Area: Alameda-Tesla Expansion Area. SUPPORT: Signed.
     
    Senate Bill 1 (Atkins) California Environmental, Public Health, and Workers Defense Act of 2019. SUPPORT: Vetoed.
     
    Senate Bill 25 (Caballero) California Environmental Quality Act: projects funded by qualified opportunity zone funds or other public funds. OPPOSE: Passed in Senate; held in Assembly.
     
    Senate Bill 54 (Allen) Solid waste: packaging and products. Companion Bill to AB 1080. SUPPORT: Passed in Senate; converted to a two-year bill in the Assembly.
     
    Senate Bill 200 (Monning) Drinking water. SUPPORT: Signed.
     
    Senate Bill 210 (Leyva) Heavy-Duty Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program. SUPPORT: Signed.
     
    Senate Bill 307 (Roth) Water conveyance: use of facility with unused capacity. SUPPORT: Signed.Senate Bill 551 (Jackson) Oil and gas: wells and facilities: abandonment and decommissioning: reporting and inspections. SUPPORT: Signed.
     
    Now that you know the scores, take action! Let your legislators know that you know their score. If it was high, thank them. Not so good, express your disappointment, and let them know you care about our environment. See the report card for other suggestions here.
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