Valley Air Board set for reform? (SB 719 Passes Assembly)
In a vote yesterday the state assembly passed Senate Bill 719 that called for board reform for the Valley Air district.
I have written before about this piece of legislature, and was hopeful that *this* time the bill may indeed pass both the Senate and Assembly, and be presented to Governor Schwarzenegger to be signed.
It is great news for the valley, as the board DOES NEED REFORM. I am not saying this because I have disagreed with them in the past. I say this because I believe they needed to be given the tools to be able to be successfully support both the central valley economy AND the health issues we face due to the valley’s air quality.
We now need our Governor to sign this legislation to help the Air District realize that they are a public health agency, and that having a scientist, and a health representative will benefit everyone.
This is not a personal attack on the board members (they think it is, as they voted to oppose it). Nor is this an opportunity to place some dumb doctors on the board (one board members said most doctors can’t tie their own shoe laces). It is also not meant to balloon the air district’s size in order to create another oversized government agency. This is just common sense to have environmental, health, and city representatives on a board, that represents a environmental and health agency representing many thousands of people.
