Environmental Health In the News

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has used his governorship to raise environmental awareness and push healthy eating, on Sunday vetoed bills that would have forced chain restaurants to post nutritional information and encouraged "green" construction of buildings.

Rushing to meet a midnight deadline to act on hundreds of bills left on his desk by the Democratic-controlled Legislature, the Republican governor also signed one bill that raises a variety of vehicle fees to fund air pollution programs and another that makes California the first state to ban chemical phthalates in toys and other products meant for children under age 3.

And he made good on a promise to approve a bill that forbids the state's massive public employment retirement funds to invest in companies with business in Iran. But the governor delivered a victory to business interests who lobbied hard against Senate Bill 120, which would have required chain restaurants with at least 14 outlets to post nutritional information about menu items.

Sponsored by the American Heart Association and carried by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, the measure was billed as a step toward encouraging better nutrition and health by giving consumers more dietary information with which to make decisions.

But opponents, including the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Restaurant Association and various restaurant chains, said the requirement would be cumbersome and discourage creative cooking.

Schwarzenegger, the former bodybuilder who has worked for healthier nutritional standards in schools, said the bill was impractical because it required postings in some restaurants and not others and because it "provides restaurants with little flexibility for how they provide consumers with nutritional information," according to his veto message.

He said many restaurants are already providing the information.

"Inflexible mandates applied sporadically are not an effective way to continue our progress in educating Californians about healthy living."

He also vetoed a package of three measures -- Assembly Bills 35, 888 and 1058 -- that sought to require certain state-owned, commercial and residential buildings to adopt what were termed environmentally responsible practices in design and construction.

Supporters said the measures would move the state toward meeting stricter standards for greenhouse gas emissions.

But Schwarzenegger sided with opponents, including the Building Industry Association and the state chamber, which said the measures could be costly and would unnecessarily write building standards into law instead of leaving the task to the California Building Standards Commission.

"Building standards should not be statutory," Schwarzenegger wrote in his veto message on AB 888. "The Building Standards Commission was created to ensure an open public adoption process allowing experts to develop standards and periodic updates to the building codes."

Environmental groups praised the governor's action on the phthalates measure, Assembly Bill 1108 by Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, D-San Francisco.

Based on studies that show the plasticizing agent causes liver and hormone damage, groups sought the ban over the lobbying efforts of toy and chemical manufacturers, who maintained phthalates have been tested and certified as safe.

"This bill is so important because as children's minds and bodies go through the delicate processes of growing and developing, they are particularly vulnerable to chemicals that could affect proper development," said Dan Jacobson, legislative director for Environment California, in a prepared statement.

The group says California now joins the European Union and 14 other countries that have banned or restricted the use of phthalates.

In his signing message, the Republican governor also called for a systematic review of other chemicals.

"While I believe the circumstances related to phthalates warrant taking action now, I do not believe that addressing this type of concern in the Legislature on a chemical-by-chemical, product-by-product basis is the best or most effective way to make chemical policy in California," he wrote.

The governor promised last month to sign Assembly Bill 221 by Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, which gives the California Public Employees' Retirement System and the California State Teachers' Retirement System until March 30 to abide by the Iran investment restrictions.

Investment analysts have said the move could force CalPERS and CalSTRS to unload more than $10 billion in holdings in foreign-based energy, nuclear and defense corporations with business ties in Iran.

The "smog abatement fee" motorists pay as part of the annual vehicle registration bill will increase by $8 -- from $12 to $20 -- under Assembly Bill 118 signed by the governor Sunday night.

The measure, by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez, D-Los Angeles, also would add $3 to the annual vehicle registration fee, raise the annual fee for trailers by $5 and for boats by $10 to $20.

The new fees would kick in July 1 and continue until Jan. 1, 2016.

The raises, vehemently opposed by Schwarzenegger's fellow Republicans in the Legislature, would raise approximately $200 million a year to pay for programs to, among other things, encourage retirement of high-polluting vehicles and promote alternative energy use.

Despite a months-long lobbying campaign by the United Farm Workers, Schwarzenegger also vetoed Senate Bill 180, which would have allowed farmworkers to unionize by signing cards instead of casting secret ballots.

The union argued that the current election system -- in which the Agricultural Labor Relations Board calls a secret-ballot election after certifying signed petitions -- allows growers and contractors to intimidate workers.

Under the vetoed measure, by Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, workers would have had the choice to unionize by signing cards, with the ALRB certifying the results.

Growers argued that current law includes plenty of protections. Schwarzenegger agreed.