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Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation that will allow owners of hybrids and other alternative fuel vehicles to drive in carpool lanes, even while driving solo, until 2011. The legislation, authored by Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, also increases the number of hybrid-carpool permits in the state from 75,000 to 85,000. The governor, whose staff had directed Lieu to include hybrids in the bill, signed the legislation despite a September Caltrans report that said carpool lanes have become clogged during peak hours. The report recommended that no additional carpool-lane stickers be issued, once the 75,000 cap is reached, which could happen...

Among other things, Schwarzenegger signs into law legislation giving discounts on prescription medicines SACRAMENTO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger trumpeted a season of legislative triumphs with a flurry of bill signings Friday, including bills that will affect everyone from low-income prescription drug consumers to hybrid drivers to television watchers to vendors who sell Vietnamese rice cakes. He signed 179 bills and vetoed 115, leaving around 175 to be signed today, the constitutional deadline to consider legislation. In total, Schwarzenegger has signed 800 bills and vetoed 189. Whether it was environmental protections, raising the minimum wage or providing discounted prescription drugs, many...

Federal authorities could force Caltrans to kick hybrid vehicles out of congested carpool lanes or require drivers of non-hybrids to pick up an extra passenger to gain admission to overused lanes. And that could help unclog carpool lanes in the Bay Area, most of which have become commute-hour slogs, according to a Caltrans report compiled after more than 50,000 hybrids were given access to the lanes. The report found that carpool lanes on Interstates 80 and 880 and Highways 101, 4, 85 and 237 have gone from being relatively free-flowing routes in spring 2005 to stop-and-go congestion this past spring....

Eight towns would love to land the new Sierra Nevada Conservancy headquarters, projected to eventually have 70 employees and a $10 million budget. But only two showed up at the historic first meeting of the conservancy board Thursday in Sacramento, and both were from Nevada County. Nevada City used a laid-back approach in its pitch, but Truckee came on like a runaway snowboarder. Auburn, Colfax, Placerville, Amador City, Ione and Jackson were no-shows. “Give us your serious consideration,” said Truckee Mayor Craig Threshie in a lengthy speech that trumpeted the town’s location, history and commitment to the range. “We have...

The Sierra Nevada, historically a majestic battleground for competing local interests, comes under the stewardship of the state's newest and biggest conservancy this week. Proponents say the 25-million-acre Sierra Nevada Conservancy will be more than a protector of the mountain environment - it will also be an incubator for jobs and economic growth. The conservancy's 13 voting board members - seven state appointees and six county supervisors - will hold their first meeting at 10 a.m. Thursday in Sacramento at the state Energy Commission building, 1516 Ninth St. The Sierra Nevada Conservancy is the ninth conservancy created by the Legislature...

Bear River Canyon, Placer County -- Framed by a crystalline stream and steep slopes carpeted with ponderosa pine and black oak, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill Thursday authorizing the Sierra Nevada Conservancy, a new state agency dedicated to preserving the 25 million acres of forest, meadow and craggy granite peaks that comprise John Muir's "Range of Light."

After signing the Sierra Nevada Conservancy bill along the Bear River, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gives a thumbs-up to dignitaries and the media. From left are Assemblyman John Laird, D-Santa Cruz; state Resources Agency Secretary Mike Chrisman; California EPA Secretary Terry Tamminen; and Assemblyman Tim Leslie, R-Tahoe City. The Union photo/John Hart Standing on a wide gravel bar with the Bear River flowing gently by him, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Sierra Nevada Conservancy bill Thursday to the sound of bipartisan applause. "California is where the conservation movement began, and today we are happy to continue this noble tradition," Schwarzenegger said....

09-23) 16:56 PDT COLFAX, Calif. (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger chose a woodsy mountain setting Thursday to sign legislation establishing a 25 million-acre Sierra Nevada Conservancy, while also signing nearly 20 other bills to protect the Pacific Ocean, curb smog and clean up blighted urban land. With numerous strokes of the pen, Schwarzenegger opened 1,100 miles of car pool lanes to hybrid cars, established the nation's first Cabinet-level Ocean Protection Council in state government and barred cruise ships from burning garbage and dumping sewage inside state waters. He also banned commercial fishing fleets from bottom trawling along designated parts of...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger faces decisions on bills that would create a Sierra Nevada conservancy, require economic impact reports before local governments approve Wal-Mart-like superstores and promote recycling of cell phones. Also headed to his desk are measures that would bar kids under 14 from using tanning salons without a doctor's approval, require schools to notify parents when they serve students irradiated food and give consumers at least 30 days to claim rebates. California lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to dozens of bills as they rushed to wrap up their 2004 session by Friday. The Sierra Nevada bill,...

SACRAMENTO - The Senate on Monday approved creation of a state conservancy to protect the majestic Sierra Nevada, but another environmental bill, which would ban smoking on state beaches, stalled as lawmakers began the last days of their 2004 session. The conservancy bill, by Assemblymen Tim Leslie, R-Tahoe City, and John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, cleared the Senate on a 21-14 vote and was returned to the Assembly, which approved a somewhat different version of the legislation in May. If the Assembly adopts the Senate changes, the legislation will go to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The beach-smoking bill, by Assemblyman Paul Koretz,...

Dear Sierra Friends, A very good Friday afternoon to you all! In case you had not heard, I wanted to make sure you knew that the Sierra Nevada Conservancy bill, AB 2600, will be heard on the Senate Floor this coming Monday, August 23. Senator Bruce McPherson (R—Santa Cruz) will be presenting AB 2600 as the bill’s official floor jockey. Below, I am including material we’ve put together on the highlights of the consensus reached by Assemblyman Leslie and Assemblyman Laird and the Schwarzenegger Administration. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me by phone or e mail....

State Sen. Sam Aanestad, R-Grass Valley, said he fears water rights in the Sierra could be jeopardized by a conservancy aimed at protecting the mountain range's resources, such as the South Yuba River, shown here off of North Bloomfield Road. State Sen. Sam Aanestad on Monday attacked the idea of a Sierra Nevada Conservancy, fearing it will infringe on property and water rights. Despite Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's endorsement of the plan, the Republican legislator last week voted against a compromised version of the bill, which would create an organization aimed at gathering grants and other funds to protect and improve...

SACRAMENTO (AP) - California is set to spend more than $14 million on new river parkways and open land in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges under the budget signed Saturday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But Schwarzenegger sliced the nearly $50 million sought by Senate leader John Burton, D-San Francisco, because the two new programs will start halfway through the budget year. It was unrealistic to expect to spend all the money in just six months, budget officials said. The now-$4.15 million mountain program is contingent on legislative approval of a new Sierra Nevada Conservancy, a sweeping new government...

DATE: JUNE 16, 2004 TO: ALL GRASSROOTS AND CONCERNED CITIZENS FROM: ROSE COMSTOCK, ALLIANCE FOR AMERICA www.allianceforamerica.org PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR LIST AND ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO RESPOND. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! WHAT: WILD LANDS PROJECT AT WORK - JUNE 29, 2004 - HEARINGS ARE SCHEDULED FOR TWO BILLS - AB1788 & AB2600 -EACH AUTHORIZE ESTABLISHING A SIERRA NEVADA CONSERVANCY IN CALIFORNIA TO ACQUIRE, AND DIRECT THE MANAGEMENT, OF PUBLIC LANDS LOCATED PRIMARILY WITHIN THE CORE SIERRA NEVADA REGION. STATUS: BOTH BILLS ARE CURRENTLY IN THE CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE. THIS COMMITTEE IS CHAIRED BY ONE...

Socialist agenda being pushed through the California Legislature.ALERT:Hearing scheduled for Sierra Nevada Conservancy bills 6/29/04 AB 2600 (Laird) SUMMARY : Creates within the Resources Agency the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (Conservancy) to acquire and manage land for various specified public objectives, and to make grants for those purposes, in the Sierra Nevada-Cascade Mountain Region. AB 1788 (Leslie) SUMMARY : Creates within the Resources Agency the Sierra Nevada Conservancy (Conservancy) to acquire and manage land for various specified public objectives, and to make grants for those purposes, in the Sierra Nevada Region. AB 2631 (Wolk) SUMMARY : Establishes an interagency council (more...

RED ALERT!!! RED ALERT!!!There are three bills ready for a vote in the Assembly. Two would turn the entire Sierra Nevada mountain range into a conservancy. The other one would give the state total control over water and private property. Unless these bills are stopped, you can give up on CA.Ab 2600/a>Ab 1788AB 2631RED ALERT, RED ALERT!!!All bills are to third reading!!!

Sierra Conservancy bills - Gov needs to hear from you DATE: MAY 2, 2004TO: ALL GRASSROOTS AND CONCERNED CITIZENS . . . . . . . . . . . (PLEASE SHARE WITH YOUR LIST OF CONTACTS) FROM: ROSE COMSTOCK - PRESIDENT - ALLIANCE FOR AMERICA           www.allianceforamerica.orgWHAT:    Wednesday of this week the California Assembly Appropriations Committee approved two bills that would establish a Sierra Nevada Conservancy. Governor Schwarzenegger has indicated that he intends to create a Sierra Nevada Conservancy during his first term in office. These two bills-AB 1788 and AB 2600-present radically different...

Two bills that would create a Sierra Nevada Conservancy are set to move into the state Senate. The two efforts, AB 2600 and AB 1788, are progressing despite lingering questions over the degree of local control in the legislation. The aim of a conservancy is largely to coordinate funding and conservation efforts for the 400-mile long mountain range. The Sierra Nevada Conservancy is an almost five-year effort by conservationists to focus funding on an area that they say has largely been looked over. The California coast and Lake Tahoe both have conservancies, but the Sierra Nevada as a whole is...

Two bills making their way through the California Assembly would create a Sierra Nevada Conservancy. If passed, the conservancy would direct money to help manage the public lands in the mountain range. The Union photo/Pico van Houtryve It spans nearly 500 miles, supplies the water that nourishes California’s economy and has provided vocations and vacations for generations, but the Sierra Nevada has no benefactor like the conservancies that care for Lake Tahoe or the state’s vast coastline. That could change this year, however, if one of the two bills now winding through the Legislature is approved - or if...

Schwarzenegger takes care of business. Sacramento CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR Arnold Schwarzenegger's political clout continues to grow. Having won landslide victories this month on two referendums, he is now whipsawing Democrats on his latest agenda item, reforming the state's out-of-control worker's compensation system. Allies of the Republican governor were on the steps of the California capitol last week, signing petitions to get a referendum to overhaul worker's comp on the ballot in November. Inside the capitol, Schwarzenegger was negotiating with Democrats to get a tough reform measure through the legislature. With his dual strategy, the new governor has given Democrats an unenviable...