California Lawmakers To Decide Fate Of Landmark Climate Law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- The Latest on California's efforts to extend its cap and trade climate change-fighting program (all times local):
12:15 p.m.
Environmentalists critical of Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to extend California's cap-and-trade program are calling on Democrats to reject the plan and craft a more liberal alternative.
Representatives from several left-leaning advocacy groups held a news conference on the Capitol steps hours before lawmakers were scheduled to vote on Monday.
They say the plan that Brown is promoting is too friendly to the oil industry and is not aggressive enough to save the planet from climate change.
Eddie Kurtz of Courage Campaign says Democrats have a supermajority in both legislative chambers and don't need to seek Republican votes for an aggressive climate policy.
Brown says cap-and-trade is the most cost effective way for the state to meet its aggressive goals on reducing greenhouse gases.
The Senate and Assembly plan to convene at 2 p.m.
6:16 a.m.
California lawmakers are nearing a vote on a climate change initiative.
The decision Monday could give another decade of life to California's expiring cap-and-trade program. It has global implications as the largest U.S. state looks to be a model for reducing carbon emissions at a time when President Donald Trump is pulling back from fighting global warming.
Gov. Jerry Brown has pitched the legislation with nearly apocalyptic rhetoric, calling it essential for the survival of civilization. But his plan has infuriated some environmental groups who say progressive California should be far more aggressive in combatting harmful pollution.
The legislation is one of Brown's highest priorities as he nears the end of his fourth term, but he's struggled to line up support from the two-thirds of lawmakers needed to pass.
