California League of Conservation Voters 2006 California Environmental Scorecard is Very Revealing

Republicans in Assembly and Senate Veer to the Right. McClintock Gets a 0% Score.

Although Legislature Delivers Top Environmental Bills to Schwarzenegger, His Score is Only 50% and He Fails to Deliver Republican Votes for Bills.

By Frank D. Russo

The California League of Conservation Voters (CLCV) www.ecovote.org/ released its annual California Environmental Scorecard today, after one of the most successful years for the environment in recent memory. Unlike last year though, many of the highest priority bills for the environmental community passed the Legislature, leaving Governor Schwarzenegger with the final decision as to whether they became law or not.

The Governor’s score in 2006 of 50% is slightly worse than the previous two years’ 58%, and reflects his established pattern of having a mixed record on environmental issues, despite the "green" image he has cultivated. Although Schwarzenegger is the most powerful Republican in the state, this report shows that he has not translated this into any meaningful influence on Republicans in the legislature. This year’s session confirmed the continuation of a trend established in the mid 1990’s--paralysis by the Republican members of the Assembly and Senate on environmental issues with 2006 scores at an abysmal 6% average.

In fact, if you look at the chart at the end of this article, the "Snapshot of the Numbers", you will see that the average Republican Assemblymember's pro environment vote has declined in almost a straight line from 28% (not good at all) in 1988, the first year that the scorecard was issued, to an absolutely dismal 6% in 2006. Senate Republicans plummeted even more dramatically from a friendly 68% in 1988 to the same rock bottom 6% in 2006.

Meanwhile Assembly Democrats annual percentages (98% to 83%) and Senate Democrats (98% to 76%) stayed in the same range and fluctuated much less over the years, ending about where they started.

Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor, State Senator Tom McClintock, received a perfect score--a zero percent rating--in 2006. This is consistent with his voting record over the years, and comes as no surprise to those following environmental issues, but the scorecard should provide ammunition with voters who care about the environment, clean air, and associated issues.