What happens to a bill in the Legislature when it gets the backing of both farmers and environmentalists, bipartisan support and the chairman of the Assembly Appropriations Committee thinks it's a good idea?
It gets stalled, of course.
That's what happened to SB 240, a bill by state Sen. Dean Florez, the Shafter Democrat, that would have given the Valley air district the power to levy an additional charge --up to $30 -- on vehicle registration fees in this region. The money would be used to pay for various programs to clean up the Valley's foul air.
But Appropriations Committee chairman Mark Leno of San Francisco is bent out of shape because the state Senate is holding up several other bills, including one of Leno's own. So, the gracious and mature fashion of the state's elected "leaders," he held up the Florez bill. Here's our editorial on the matter published today.
Florez says he'll bring the bill back in January. Maybe by then we'll have a Legislature that takes care of these things without a lot of silly games. And maybe the sun will rise in the west.
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