Schwarzenegger signs many green bills into law, vetoes a few
California reaped a green bonanza last week, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed more than 30 wide-ranging environmental bills into law. One with potential for nationwide impact will mandate that all new cars for sale in California be stickered with information on how many tons of greenhouse gases they emit, starting in 2009. Others will prohibit sewage dumping from commercial ships within three miles of the shore, ban use of experimental pesticides around schools, phase out mercury in industrial switches, and require cosmetics companies to tell state officials if potentially toxic chemicals are used in their products. However, the Governator vetoed four of the 10 bills the state Sierra Club deemed top priorities, including one that would establish a program to track toxic chemical levels in the bodily fluids of state residents. “This continues his mixed record on environment,” said Sierra Club’s Bill Magavern. “Not terrible, not great. He could have done better.”
