Region: California
The High Speed Rail Sacramento Smack-Down
California has been going about planning high speed rail all wrong, and Sacramento appears to be taking notice. Yesterday, the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) released a report recommending major changes in the way California implements high speed rail. In addition to a complete reorganization of the governing structure of the High Speed Rail Authority, …
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CONTINUE READINGEvaluating the claim that future environmental regulations have already made California the nation’s worst place to do business
I’m reasonably sure that chiefexecutive.net’s annual listing of “Best/Worst States for Business“ isn’t most people’s go-to source for information comparing various states’ business climates. Nonetheless, the website’s annual survey just came out, and the Sacramento Bee is covering it as a story (with a promise of more coverage to come). California — as usual — …
CONTINUE READINGThe New Public Trust Climate Cases
Per the New York Times this morning, a group of environmental organizations called Our Children’s Trust has filed a lawsuit against the state of California, arguing for protection of the atmosphere under the public trust doctrine (about which I blogged a couple of days ago). A few preliminary reactions after having read the complaint quickly: …
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CONTINUE READINGParking, Infill, and Affordable Housing
The Infill Builders’ parking bill that I blogged about this morning just passed unanimously out of the Assembly Local Government committee this afternoon, overcoming perhaps its biggest hurdle to ultimate passage. Although one would expect local governments to oppose a state bill that limits their ability to demand excessive parking for transit-oriented development, opposition to …
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CONTINUE READINGInfill Builders at the State Capitol
Part of my work with UC Berkeley and UCLA involves gathering business leaders to discuss opportunities presented by climate change policies. In the case of real estate development, the common refrain from sustainable developers seems to be to tell government to get out of their way and let them build more walkable, mixed-use communities around …
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CONTINUE READINGDamage Control for the States: Predicting the Outcome in AEP v. Connecticut
Yesterday I previewed Tuesday’s oral arguments in the U.S. Supreme Court’s American Electric Power v. Connecticut case, and two of my Legal Planet colleagues have already posted comments on certain aspects of those arguments. But let me cast discretion to the wind and predict the outcome of the case. Actually, it’s not that difficult a …
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CONTINUE READINGReading the Mary Nichols (carbon) tea leaves
It’s undoubtedly dangerous to try to read too much into short media quotes. But Mary Nichols, the chair of the California Air Resources Board, is in a better position than most to judge (and to influence) the political winds on the future of the State’s cap-and-trade program. Here’s her latest public statement on the issue, made during an appearance last …
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CONTINUE READINGWill AB 32 Regulations Move Ahead Despite the Court Ruling?
We’ve extensively covered the litigation over California’s landmark climate change law, AB 32. Now, per the Clean Energy Report, CARB might be able to move ahead with the cap-and-trade regulations anyway: the trial court might very well stay its decision pending appeal, which is not unheard of, and according to the state’s attorneys, occurs automatically upon …
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CONTINUE READINGNinth Circuit Rejects Commerce Clause Challenge to ESA
Aligning itself with four other federal circuits that have addressed the question, the Ninth Circuit has ruled that application of the Endangered Species Act to California’s imperiled Delta Smelt doesn’t violate the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution. San Luis & Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Salazar (http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/03/25/10-15192.pdf ) is the latest chapter in the long-running …
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CONTINUE READINGThe recent court decision blocking California’s scoping plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: One-stop shopping for recent Legal Planet commentary
Several of the bloggers on Legal Planet have been commenting extensively on the recent California court decision that will block the California Air Resources Board from moving forward with its AB 32 Scoping Plan and related regulations. I’ve provided links below to a series of our posts on this decision. The court, ruling on a …
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