Cap-and-trade program has polarizing effect

SCV state legislators split on decision; Democrat in favor, Republican not

Governor Jerry Brown’s cap-and-trade program extension was approved by state legislators Monday evening, crossing party lines and earning bipartisan support to combat climate change.

Assembly Bill 398 extended the program until 2030. Twenty-eight Senators supported the program and 12 opposed. In the Assembly, 55 Assembly members supported the cap-andtrade and 21 were opposed.

This cap puts limits on greenhouse gas emissions and requires companies to pay penalties if they exceed the cap, which becomes stricter over time. The trade serves as a market for companies to buy and sell allowances while only emitting a certain amount of gases, providing an incentive to save money by cutting emissions.

Santa Clarita’s state senators had polarized responses to the

approval, with the local Democrat legislator in favor and the Republican in opposition.

This program is both beneficial environmentally and economically, according Senator Henry Stern (DCanoga Park), who once described himself during a virtual town hall as “environmentally aggressive.”

“Today’s vote is a win for taxpayers, small business owners, innovators and everyone who breathes in California (everyone),” Stern said in a statement.

“What our bipartisan vote today shows is that some matters rise above party. Tackling climate change in a way that sustains California’s global economic competitiveness is much bigger than any party or person. I’m proud to be a member of the California Legislature today,” he said.

Highlighting the reason for his “no” vote, Senator Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) said the cost of this deal with be burdensome to taxpayers.

“California is the sixth largest economy in the world and produces less than one percent of the world’s carbon emissions, yet we are going to balance the world’s climate change on the backs of middle and workingclass Californians,” Wilk said in a statement.

“Giving unelected bureaucrats unchecked authority over how this program is implemented and enforced means it will have enormous power over ordinary Californians. This is a dangerous precedent and something I fear will be bad for California’s consumers.”

Wilk cited the recently-approved the 12-cent gas tax Governor Brown has set for November and said the combination of this with cap-andtrade is unaffordable for the middle class. Also, putting cap-and-trade revenue toward the High-Speed Rail is “an embarrassment,” Wilk said.

Santa Clarita’s Assembly members Dante Acosta (R-Santa Clarita) and Tom Lackey (R-Palmdale) were among the legislators who voted against the program Monday.