The city council of Davis unanimously agreed to a “No” vote on Proposition 23 and a “Yes” vote on Proposition 22.
Voting Yes on Prop 23 would suspend California AB 32, which passed in 2006 creating the California Global Warming Solutions Act. The suspension would last until the unemployment rate in California dropped below 5.5 percent. Currently, California’s unemployment is 12.4 percent according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In its resolution to oppose Prop. 23, the council said it believes the proposition would considerably weaken California’s clean air standards because an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent is rarely achieved.
The council went on to say that Prop. 23 would harm the level of job creation in the clean energy industry that is emerging in California. Also, the increase in air pollution would be harmful to the Central Valley and create a major health threat.
“Opposing Proposition 23 is consistent with goals and policies of the City of Davis and its Davis Climate Action and Adaptation Plan,” the council said in its resolution.
The council also decided to support Prop. 22. This would stop the state from taking revenue that local governments have for transportation, redevelopment and improvement programs.
In the resolution to support Prop. 22, the council mentioned the repeated attempts by California voters to stop raids on funding by the state government that should be used by the local governments.
“The city of Davis city council formally endorses the Local Taxpayer, Public Safety and the Transportation Protection Act of 2010,” the council said. “Approval of this ballot initiative would close the loopholes and change the constitution to further prevent the state from seizing, diverting [and] shifting … or otherwise taking or interfering with tax revenues dedicated to funding local government services.”
The full resolutions are currently not available to the public on the city of Davis website. At press, anyone trying to find a copy would need to contact the City Clerk’s office.
The City of Davis City Council meets every Tuesday at City Hall in the Community Chambers. The meetings begin at 6:30 p.m.
BRIAN A. BROWN can be reached at city@theaggie.org.
