Prop 23, a California initiative to suspend their climate hysteria laws until unemployment stays at 5.5% or lower for 4 consecutive quarters in California (which meant, of course, that the actual global warming legislation, known as AB32, would never be implemented), went down to defeat by a margin of 61 to 39%. However, Prop 26 slid through 53-47%, a ballot initiative that slid under the radar over the hysteria about Prop 23
California voters approved a measure Tuesday that will make it harder for the Legislature to raise fees, according to early vote tallies. The passage of Prop. 26 could empower the Republican minority in the state Legislature and make it more difficult for the state to balance its books on the backs of alcohol, tobacco and other companies that have been targets of legislative fees for decades.
The new law requires a 2/3rds vote for all fees, which stops the Democrat led California legislature from passing them through simple majority votes. What does this have to do with the global warming hysteria laws?
California’s approval of a ballot measure (Prop 26) making it harder to pass regulatory fees could undermine state environmental laws, including planned limits on greenhouse gases, said the Climate Action Reserve, a Los Angeles-based carbon offsets program.
The new fees requirement “may stifle environmental, health, and safety programs in general,†Gary Gero, president of the Climate Action Reserve, said in an e-mail.
Supporters of the global warming law said before yesterday’s election that businesses could use Proposition 26 to mount legal challenges to carbon dioxide fees or the sale of pollution permits at government-run auctions, arguing they weren’t approved by two-thirds of the state’s lawmakers.
Of all the problems California has, such as 12.4% unemployment, massive illegal immigration, gangs, prison over-crowding, prisons full of illegal immigrant gang members, budget woes, people and companies streaming out, passing laws that create more costs, higher fees, more restrictions, should be last on California’s list of “Do Now’s.” Perhaps Prop 26 will stop some of the insanity.
Meanwhile, Andrew Revkin and other climate alarmists are really upset that the GOP led House might force them to pony up actual evidence that supports their cult like belief in manmade global warming. You’d think they would jump at the chance to prove all the skeptics wrong.
