No on Prop 23

The upcoming November California ballot proposition, known by opponents as the “Dirty Energy Proposition,” would kill Assembly Bill (AB) 32, California's landmark environmental legislation. According to Governor Schwarzenegger, this proposition “is the work of greedy oil companies who want to keep polluting in our state and making profits. AB 32 will add jobs, create savings in energy costs and increase personal incomes. In fact, the highest job creation California is seeing right now is in our green economy." 
According to the Secretary of State, more than 98 percent of the funds for Prop. 23 are from oil companies and 89 percent of the funding is coming from out of state. The primary funders are two Texas oil companies, Valero Energy Corporation and Tesoro, who are among the nation’s biggest polluters, with oil refineries that rank in the top ten polluters in California. For more information, read the “Toxic Twins” report. Prop. 23 supporters have put out a study indicating that AB 32 will harm the economy and lead to job loss. Stanford, UCLA, and Tufts have dismissed the research as “highly biased” and “deeply flawed.” (See a study refuting the proponents' claims.)
Kristin Eberhard, an attorney from the Natural Resources Defense Council, explained in an LA Times article that Prop. 23 "says no state agency shall continue pursuing any program that implements AB 32…That could mean everything from energy-efficiency standards to green building programs. I think they used that language very purposefully.’" There is a very strong argument that all measures in the AB 32 Scoping Plan are “implementing” AB 32 and would therefore be suspended. This could include California’s renewable energy, vehicle and fuel, distributed solar incentives, and green building standards. Even if this is ultimately judged not to be the case, clean tech competitors and ideological opponents would argue the point through lengthy lawsuits that would create business delays and massive market uncertainty for years to come. See the Clean Economy Network's factsheet: The Market Effects of Overturning California's Climate & Energy Laws.

AB 32 has launched California to the forefront of the clean technology industry. Green jobs are expanding all over the state with the Bay Area experiencing 51% green jobs growth between 1995-2008. According to a new report by California’s Employment Development Department, more than 500,000 employees already work part or full-time in green jobs, 67,973 of which are in construction. Creating energy efficient commercial and residential properties and retrofitting existing buildings will create tens of thousands more jobs in California. For example, the California Public Utilities Commission authorized a $3.1 billion investment in energy efficiency programs in 2009 that will create an estimated 15,000-18,000 jobs.

Over 91 percent of Californians live in counties that were assigned failing air quality grades by the American Lung Association. This problem would be further exacerbated if Prop. 23 is passed. Opponents of the proposition include public health and health care organizations such as the American Lung Association in California, Public Health Institute, Kaiser Permanente, and many more (view the full list of 600 opponents).

Get your company to join a broad coalition that includes USGBC, clean energy businesses (wind, solar, venture capital) and business leaders (Google, eBay, Levi Strauss) to oppose Prop. 23.

Get Involved:

Educate and sign your company on to the No on 23 campaign
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Visit the No on Proposition 23 website to learn more.