The California Assembly has rejected a bill that would set a new greenhouse gas reduction mandate – and the vote wasn’t close.
The measure, SB 32, would require California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
It needed 41 votes but got just 30, with 35 “no” votes. Many Democrats abstained or opposed the bill.
Asm. Sebastian Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles) brought the measure up for debate and was the only member to speak. He noted the bill includes checks and balances.
“Any plan that is developed by the California Air Resources Board will have to come to the Legislature,“ Ridley-Thomas said, “and we’ll have a certain period of time to have oversight hearings, to have legislative input, and we’ll have an opportunity as well to introduce legislation to give direction and advocate for concerns that we have.”
The measure will likely be brought up for another vote later this week.
A companion measure, SB 350, has yet to come up for a vote. It would require California to cut vehicle petroleum use in half, increase the amount of energy the state uses from renewable sources from a third to 50 percent, and increase energy efficiency standards in buildings.
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