Press release: CLCV Releases 2010 Scorecard

*Press Release*

February 10, 2011

Contact: Jenesse Miller, CLCV – 510.844.0235

California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) Releases 2010 California Environmental Scorecard

Scorecard Describes Behind-the-Scenes Story of Votes on Environmental Legislation

OAKLAND, Calif.  (Feb. 10 2011) – The California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) – the political arm of the environmental movement in California – announced the release of its annual California Environmental Scorecard today. The record of the year’s most important environmental votes reveals how Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and members of the state legislature performed on the environment in the 2010 legislative session.

“The story of the 2010 Scorecard is twofold; it’s about how the environmental community stopped multiple attacks on the environment and how we passed strong laws that protect our quality of life,” said Warner Chabot, CLCV Chief Executive Officer.

Emboldened by the tough economic climate, anti-environmental legislators introduced dozens of so-called “regulatory reform” bills in an attempt to weaken environmental protections. As a result, CLCV and its allies in the environmental community and the legislature played defense more than offense. However, environmental advocates were able to deliver several important proposed laws to Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk, including bills dealing with energy storage, recycling, water conservation, pesticides, clean energy jobs, and oil spill prevention.

“The good news is that leaders in the environmental community and the legislature successfully defeated all of the bills that posed the most serious threats to the environment and public health. The bad news is we expect more of these attacks in 2011,” said Chabot. “CLCV calls on high-scoring legislators to continue to lead the way in 2011 on improving water quality, increasing clean and renewable energy opportunities, protecting parks, limiting exposure to toxic chemicals, and resisting demands for rollbacks of environmental laws that protect California’s natural heritage and the public’s health.”

After seven years as governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger left office with an average score of 53 percent. In 2010, the governor vetoed seven bills and signed nine into law. Schwarzenegger received national recognition for leadership on environmental issues, but he leaves a mixed legacy as a governor who championed some issues—notably, bold solutions to climate change—but was less reliable on others, including protecting public health and state parks.

“The California Environmental Scorecard is an important tool for our members and other environmental voters, who help us deliver on our mission to hold elected officials accountable to their campaign promises to protect California’s families and natural heritage,” said Chabot. “With the introduction this year of a new interactive, online Scorecard, CLCV is making it even easier for voters to communicate with their elected officials about their environmental performance.”

2010 California Environmental Scorecard Highlights:

Perfect 100%:

Senators: Alquist, Cedillo, Corbett, DeSaulnier, Hancock, Kehoe, Leno, Liu, A. Lowenthal, Pavley, Steinberg, Yee.

Assemblymembers: Ammiano, Bass, Beall, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Carter, Chesbro, Coto, de Leon, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Gatto, Hayashi, Hill, Huffman, Jones, Lieu, B. Lowenthal, Monning, Nava, J. Pérez, Ruskin, Salas, Saldaña, Skinner, Swanson, Torlakson, Yamada.

About the California League of Conservation Voters

The political muscle of the environmental movement in America’s leading environmental state, the California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) is the nation’s oldest grassroots environmental political action organization. CLCV uses sophisticated campaign tools to help elect pro-environment officials and to hold them accountable for passing legislation to protect health, communities and the environment. CLCV publishes the annual California Environmental Scorecard, which rates the actions of every state legislator and the governor on the state’s environmental priorities each legislative year. To learn lawmakers’ scores and read excerpts from the 2010 Scorecard, visit www.ecovote.org/scorecard.

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