2014 California Environmental Scorecard

There was excitement in the air in January 2013 as CLCV and our allies in the environmental community began the legislative session. The improving California economy, combined with increased tax revenues from Proposition 30, helped create the first budget surplus in years. The entering legislative class included an unprecedented number of freshmen legislators (a whopping 48% of the Assembly), a Democratic supermajority in both houses and a governor known for his environmental legacy—factors that many Californians assumed would all but guarantee progress on protecting the environment. As we look back at this year, the measure of the session includes some important wins, but in many ways environmental gains were harder fought and more elusive than expected.

Governor Jerry Brown himself continues to defy easy categorization. His 2013 Scorecard tally—signing eight of nine priority environmental bills that reached his desk—is commendable, but it doesn’t take into account his Administration’s positions on other bills that failed to make it to his desk.... READ MORE >