Politics
Time for a California Oil Severance Tax
California’s new Democratic supermajority will be sorely tempted to raise taxes and fees across the board, which I have earlier suggested is a bad idea politically. But that hardly means that it should reject new revenues altogether, and the easiest place to start would be an oil severance tax. The oil severance tax works exactly …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy the GOP Should Embrace Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
There’s a lot of discussion these days about how the Republican Party should reposition itself in light of last week’s election results. Support for renewables and energy efficiency would make sense as part of a package of policy adjustments — it would strengthen the Party’s appeal to swing voters, women, and younger voters, with only …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat Do You Do With a Supermajority? Be Very Careful!
As Cara observes, California Democrats seem to have achieved the unachievable in Sacramento — a 2/3 majority, allowing them to raise taxes without permission of the GOP. It’s not quite there, because a couple of state Senators were elected to Congress, and as soon as they take their seats, special elections will need to be …
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CONTINUE READINGNew Developments for Cap-and-Trade in California
There’s big news for California’s cap-and-trade program to control the state’s greenhouse gas emissions on two fronts this week. Cara alluded to the first in her post this week about California Democrats gaining a supermajority in both houses of the legislature after Tuesday’s election. The legislative development is important because the state legislature can probably …
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CONTINUE READINGWhat might the election mean for environmental law?
Three quick thoughts on the implications of the election for environmental law in general, and greenhouse gas regulation in particular: (1) Congress will matter less. A stronger Democratic majority in the Senate and a reelected Obama mean that the courts are probably the only thing standing between full implementation of EPA’s carbon dioxide regulations under …
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CONTINUE READINGOn the Nature of “Stuff”
In celebrating National Schadenfreude Day yesterday, I could not help noticing Bill O’Reilly’s complex analysis of the election returns: “Voters want things. They want stuff. Who’s going to give them stuff? Obama.” Well. Actually, the government has given the wealthy “stuff” all the time. It gives them a whole plethora of specific tax breaks and credits. …
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CONTINUE READINGElection Day Shows the Need for Transit Tax Reform in California
Tuesday seems not have been a great day for local transit advocates in California. Measures to increase or extend tax measures for public transit failed in Los Angeles County (Measure J) and currently trail in Alameda County (Measure B1), with mail-in ballots still being counted. But when I say “failed,” what I mean is they …
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CONTINUE READINGNate Silver Denialism & Climate Change Denialism
It’s perhaps unsurprising that some of the same people that deny the overwhelming data on climate change also happened to deny the overwhelming data presented by Nate Silver of the New York Times about the likely outcome of the election yesterday. Silver, the sports-statistician-turned-poll-analyzer, used aggregate poll data and analysis to show that Obama had …
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CONTINUE READINGCalifornia with Pavley and a Legislative Supermajority?
Some really good news from the California legislative election results for those in favor of innovative state policies on climate change. First, Sen. Fran “Clean Cars and AB 32” Pavley has won her tough reelection fight against challenger Todd Zink, who had attacked her for (among other things) being too far left on the environment. Sen. …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Election Results and National Energy Policy
In trying to read the effect of the 2012 elections on national energy policy, there are at least five places to look: 1. Continuity at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission One of the more dramatic changes that occurred during the first Obama term was a shift in the mission of the Federal Regulatory Commission. FERC …
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