Bipartisan support for governor’s clean energy executive order

Sept. 16, 2009 | By Patt Morrison | KPCC

The governor and Democrats in Sacramento haven’t agreed on much this year. But there is some bipartisan acknowledgment that California could lead the rest of the country toward greater reliance on renewable energy.

State Senator Joe Simitian, a Democrat who represents the Santa Cruz area, wrote a bill that’s in step with Governor Schwarzenegger’s goal of more than one-third renewable energy generation in the next 11 years. Simitian told KPCC’s Patt Morrison that major utilities, including L.A.’s Department of Water and Power, support his bill.

Joe Simitian: "They’re backed by folks in the environmental community, the Sierra Club, Environment California. They’re backed by folks in the labor world who say you know what, we think some clean and green jobs here in California would be a good thing and the rate payer advocates have also said.

"We're for the Simitian bill, we’re for the Gregorian bill, which is a compliment to this measure. I think if we are that close, we ought to be able to find a compromise with the governor if both sides are willing to work in good faith."

Earlier this week the Republican governor signed an executive order that echoes key elements of the Simitian bill.

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