Unlike most of California’s Central Valley counties, such as Merced and Fresno, which have consistently supported the High Speed Rail (“HSR”) project, Kings County has been openly opposed to the plan to construct a high speed rail through its fertile farmland. That opposition reached a flashpoint yesterday as Kings County, and two Kings County
Alleged Lead in Brass Hand Rails: Emerging Prop 65 Trend?
Several experienced Proposition 65 plaintiffs filed a high-profile Proposition 65 lawsuit in October regarding alleged lead at Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure. The lawsuit alleged that various locations in Disneyland and California Adventure contain leaded brass, including hand rails, chains and line dividers, and various items that children are encouraged to play with (such as
DOGGR Supervisor, Elena Miller, Has Been Removed
After intense lobbying from Central Valley legislators and the oil and gas exploration and production industry, on November 3, 2011, Governor Jerry Brown removed Elena Miller as Supervisor of the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) within the Department of Conservation. Appointed in 2009, Miller’s tenure as the DOGGR Supervisor has been plagued
Another Challenge to the Avenal Energy Project’s PSD Permit
The Avenal Energy Project’s Prevention for Significant Deterioration (“PSD”) permit has long been the subject of review and legal challenges. On November 3, 2011, the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice filed a joint Petition for Review in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the permit. Please
New CA Law Impacts Companies That Had Entered Into the Lead-in-Jewelry Consent Judgment
Governor Brown signed into law new legislation (SB 646-Pauley) that ends what has been described as a dual track system for enforcing California’s Lead Containing Jewelry Law (Health and Safety Codes Section 25214.1-25214.4.2). The law, which regulates the levels of lead in jewelry, also contained an exemption for retailers that had joined a
Prop 65: Cadmium Opt-In Deadline is October 21
A group of jewelry retailers, manufacturers and suppliers entered into a Proposition 65 settlement agreement with Center for Environmental Health (CEH) several months ago concerning cadmium in jewelry. The settlement was formalized in a consent judgment approved by Alameda Superior Court in CEH v. Aeropostale, Inc.
As in other Prop 65 consent judgments, this
Governor Brown Signs Two More Bills to Streamline Renewable Energy Development in California: SB 267 and SB 618
California has two more laws in place to help facilitate development of renewable energy projects after Governor Brown signed Senate Bill 267 and Senate Bill 618 over the weekend.
SB 267 modifies the existing requirements to prepare a water supply assessment for projects that meet certain size thresholds. Under the new law, a photovoltaic or
Proposed California Legislation To Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing Stalls In State Senate With A New Hydraulic Fracturing Bill Poised for Introduction In 2012
Falling victim to a Legislature pre-occupied with massive budget deficit issues and last minute wrangling over the Governor’s corporate tax package on out-of-state companies, AB 591, California’s legislative foray into the charged arena of hydraulic fracturing regulation, stalled in the State Senate’s Appropriations Committee. In its current form, the bill embodied a fairly comprehensive
Attorney Mike Mills to Speak on Property Tax Issues at CalCIMA Education Conference
Together with Peter Finie of Vulcan Materials Company, I will be making a very informative presentation on California property taxes at the upcoming California Construction and Industrial Materials Association’s (CalCIMA) 2011 Education Conference in Monterey. Our presentation, “Are Your Taxes Too High?,” will examine a number of property tax issues from an operator’s perspective
High Speed Rail: Is It Harder to Stop a Moving Train?
In the face of growing opposition and concern over soaring costs, the California High Speed Rail Authority Board (“Authority”) is betting that the answer to this question will be “yes.” The Authority met yesterday for its August board meeting and focused on laying more groundwork for the “Initial Construction Segment” or “ICS” in the San