October 13, 2001
Contact: Jenna Garmon, EDC 805-963-1622

GOVERNOR SIGNS SB 497 & AB 1602; VETOES SB 1
Davis' Actions on Bills Major Victory for California's Public and Environment

SACRAMENTO - In a major victory for the public and the environment, especially along the Central Coast, Governor Davis today signed two important pieces of environmental legislation and vetoed a bill that was opposed by virtually every major environmental organization in the state. Signed into law were SB 497, a law intended to prevent abuse of the Subdivision Map Act by developers, and AB 1602, the California Clean Water, Clean Air, Safe Neighborhood Parks & Coastal Protection Act of 2002. The Governor also vetoed SB 1, the so-called Rigs to Reef bill, a controversial piece of legislation that would have allowed oil companies to leave their abandoned offshore oil platforms in the ocean as artificial reefs.
The governor's action has significant implications for California's Central Coast. Given that twenty of California's thirty-seven oil platforms are found along the Central Coast, most of them in the Santa Barbara Channel, SB 1 could have resulted in the littering of Santa Barbara's coast with abandoned platforms and accompanying pollution and navigational hazards. It also would have left the liability for these platforms with the state, potentially resulting in huge costs to taxpayers. EDC has opposed SB 1 and its predecessor SB 241 since the legislation was first introduced, and has led the charge in getting over 30 environmental organizations statewide to oppose the bill.

"We are thrilled that the governor vetoed SB 1, which would have amounted to a bail-out for the oil industry at the expense of the public and the environment," said Linda Krop, Chief Counsel for the Environmental Defense Center. "Abandoning oil platforms in the ocean is inconsistent with our state's artificial reef guidelines and violates existing laws requiring complete removal and restoration of oil platforms sites. It would have been bad public policy."

SB 497, one of the most significant land use bills in recent years, closes a much-abused loophole in the Subdivision Map Act that has allowed developers and land speculators across the state to create instant subdivisions out of ancient parcels and drive up the value of properties being considered for acquisition by public agencies, which threatened to rapidly diminish the supply of public funds for land acquisition. Abuse of this loophole has resulted in skyrocketing property values along the Gaviota Coast and other rural areas and has threatened land use planning and conservation efforts. The Hearst Corporation has used this loophole to uncover 279 parcels on their property at San Simeon in San Luis Obispo to further its plans to develop a resort on its scenic coastal ranch and to inflate the value of the property as conservation entities seek to purchase it.
"SB 497 is a crucial piece of legislation that helps preserve the integrity of our rural lands, promotes sound land use planning, and helps prevent the raiding of our public funds," said Linda Krop.

AB 1602 authorizes $2.6 billion in bonds for the acquisition, restoration and protection of park, coastal and agricultural land and air and historic resources throughout California. It allocates funding to the state park system, to local assistance programs for the acquisition of parks, to land, air and water conservation programs and to the preservation of historical and cultural resources.

"The Governor has acted in the best interests of the people and the environment of California in his actions on these bills," said Y. Armando Nieto, Executive Director of the Environmental Defense Center. "Our efforts to restore the health of our oceans, prevent urban sprawl and protect important open spaces just got a little easier."

The Environmental Defense Center is a non-profit, public interest environmental law firm serving California's Central Coast. Since 1977, EDC has provided public education, organizing, advocacy, and legal services to community groups dedicated to environmental quality and health. For more information, please contact Jenna Garmon at (805) 963-1622 or (805) 455-2389. Visit EDC's website at: http://www.edcnet.org