Close the CEQA Loophole
Call your State Assemblymember. Note: only one of these Assemblymembers represents you. Find out which one here.
Hate the phone? Resistbot is your friend. If you use Resistbot or write an email to your elected officials, make sure to use your own words. Copy-pasted emails are discounted by Congressional staff. In-depth, personal stories are most effective.
Call Script
Hello! My name is ____. I am a constituent, and I’m calling from [ZIP code]. I’m calling to ask [AsM] to vote Aye on Senate Bill 954 when it comes up for a vote in the Assembly. I am a member of Indivisible SF.
If you’d prefer to write directly, here are the email links for Assemblymember Stefani and Haney. Also, the Right to Know coalition’s web site provides a form with a template email that you can customize. “San Francisco” in the City field will send the message to both Assemblymembers Stefani and Haney.
Background
The Planning and Conservation League, leading a coalition of over 120 environmental and sustainability organizations, is asking people to contact their Assemblymember to ask them to support SB 954. SB 954 closes a loophole in the California Environmental Quality Act that exempts new industrial development from CEQA reporting requirements, including on toxic substance use. SB 954 has passed the Senate and is now ready for a vote in the Assembly. Let your state representative know their constituents are watching!
In a last-minute move last in the last session, the California legislature passed a “budget trailer” bill that exempted planned “advanced manufacturing” facilities from the California Environmental Quality Act, without going through the usual committee consideration process. Trouble is, “advanced manufacturing” covers a lot of industrial processes that use and release toxic substances. Without CEQA requirements, industries need not inform affected communities so their residents can weigh in when industries propose such facilities. SB 954 proposes to close that loophole. It has been approved through state Senate and Assembly committees and the Senate has passed it (despite a No vote by Senator Wiener). It is now up for passage on the Assembly floor.
Opposing SB 954 are business and development interests. Their concern seems to be economic competition from industries in other states with weaker environmental and right-to-know requirements. In this period in which federal environmental protection regulations are weakening and corporate profits are strong, CEQA can help protect both economic and ecological health in California if it applies broadly.
