Ventana Chapter - Political Issues

Mr Trundle Goes to Sacramento

Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the holidays and made some achievable resolutions. Now that the festivities and rains are over it’s time to get back to work. Outings will return next week, we will post on our website and at www.meetup.com/sierra-club-ventana-chapter/. Let me know if there are any trails or outings that are on your to-do list.

Sacramento Capitol

Another one of my Ventana Chapter responsibilities is political. My civics resume is not very long. I was elected treasurer of my University marijuana advocacy coalition and as a delegate for Bernie Sanders in 2016. I also lost two Congressional elections to the current pedophile protecting speaker of the house MJ when I lived in Louisiana. Imagine how different this country would be if Bernie and I had won. 2028?

As a function of my aforementioned responsibilities I had the privilege of going to Sacramento lobbying to clean up SB 131. Senate Bill 131 began as a way to help certain companies who want to build in California eliminate some red tape in order to increase jobs and investments in our state. Sounds innocuous, yes? Sadly no. This vague bill was fast tracked for various reasons with the understanding a “clean up” bill would be passed later fully defining its scope. As it stands now any number of “advanced manufacturing" companies would be allowed to build next to neighborhoods, schools or parks without any health or environmental reviews by the State of California (SEQA). Passing a clean up bill would not refuse any of these companies from building in California, it would allow the affected communities to have informed decisions about what is being built nextdoor. Would you like a battery plant or strip mine in your backyard?

Our legislators are currently working on a new clean up bill since the last one, 1083, was stalled last year. Reasons for the stalling are unclear. Reasons to fix this dangerous situation are abundant. That is why the Sierra Club and more than 280 California justice groups are fighting for a common sense solution. Unfortunately, common sense isn’t so common anymore.

Sacramento Capitol

This Monday it was my turn. There were dozens of different groups running around the legislature building trying to get their voices heard. Some had matching t-shirts, many in suits, also a few bikers were there for good measure. Our collaboration consisted of representatives from many different environmental groups. Fortunately I was grouped with two extremely brilliant advocates who knew more than probably anyone else in the building about SB 131. There were no bags of cash handed out as I was expecting. No lavish parties on yachts either. I am beginning to think the movies aren’t entirely accurate. We didn’t even get to meet the actual representatives although I am sure John Laird would have come out and said hi if he knew we were there, he seems like a nice fellow. Instead we spoke to one or two of their staff who then passed on the information. That may sound a bit inefficient but these policy advisors and other staffers are the engine moving this legislative machine. I did get the feeling many of the actual legislators are the brakes. One of my brilliant advocate partners, there were three of us, used to be on a Senators staff. She knew everyone and everything. Most of the time she spoke while the policy advisor took notes and asked questions. Office to office we went with generally positive results. Currently the actual details of the clean up bill are being discussed. Later discussing the actual passing of the bill will happen. Then they fed us sandwiches, salad and cookies. That was it for my lobby day. No great strides but plenty of little steps.

Now it’s your turn to lobby for a healthy environment. Go to findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov, enter your address and click. This will take you to their website where there is a link to email them. Tell them to clean up SB 131 before it’s too late and whatever else you feel like then enjoy a cookie. Congratulations! This really does help motivate our politicians. They wouldn’t have a job without us after all. For bonus points encourage your friends to do the same.

Thanks for reading. See you on the trail!
Ryan Trundle