Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/714660
IL—RICHARDVOGEL An electric Fiat is plugged into a charging station in a parking lot in Los Angeles. ByJonathanJ.Cooper TheAssociatedPress SACRAMENTO Withtheex- tension of California's land- mark climate change law stalled, a legislative plan is emerging to significantly up the ante on California's commitment to electric ve- hicles by requiring that 15 percent of all new auto- mobiles be emission-free within a decade. Assemblywoman Au- tumn Burke, D-Los Angeles, told The Associated Press on Friday that she'll intro- duce legislation next week to ramp up the pressure on carmakers. Automakers that fail to sell enough electric vehicles would be required to make payments to rivals that do or pay a fine to the state. "If we create more com- petition in the market, that automatically will trigger a more affordable vehicle," Burke said in an interview. The legislation comes as anefforttoextendthestate's landmark climate change law until 2030 falters in the state Assembly and sets up a showdown between power- fulenvironmentaladvocates and automakers in the fren- zied final weeks of Califor- nia's legislative session. Burke's proposal would beef up California's existing vehicle mandates, which re- quire automakers to gradu- ally introduce cleaner vehi- cle technology. Under current law, auto- makers accumulate cred- its for selling vehicles with cleaner technology and must hit annual targets. Environmental advocates say automakers have stock- piled credits for future use and won't have sufficient incentive to sell electric ve- hicles at affordable prices, preventing the state from meeting its goals for green- house-gas reduction. "The current credit pro- gram just does not appear to be working," said Kish Rajan, a spokesman for CalInnovates, an industry group for the technology sector, and a former Brown appointee. "At least it's not working fast enough to get toward the goals that the governor has laid out and that CARB is seeking to enforce," he said, referring to the California Air Re- sources Board. Vehiclesthatnowgetcred- its toward complying with the environmental man- dates, such as plug-in hy- brids,wouldnotbeeligibleto meetthe15-percentmandate. Electric and plug-in hy- brid vehicles now account for about 3 percent of Cal- ifornia new-car sales, ac- cording to the Air Re- sources Board, which ad- ministers California's climate laws. Ca li fo rn ia m ay b ee f up electric vehicle mandate CLIMATE CHANGE By Ellen Knickmeyer The Associated Press SAN FRANCISCO Critics and a state lawmaker say they want more explana- tions on who's paying for a proposed $16 billion wa- ter project backed by Gov. Jerry Brown, after a lead- ing California water dis- trict said Brown's admin- istration was offering gov- ernment funding to finish the planning for the two gi- ant water tunnels. Critics said the govern- ment funding described by the Los Angeles-based Met- ropolitan Water District on Thursday could run coun- ter to longstanding state assurances that various lo- cal water districts, not Cal- ifornia itself, would pay for Brown's vision of digging twin 35-mile-long tunnels to carry water from the Sacramento River south, mainly for Central and Southern California. The $248 million in preliminary spending for the tunnels, which have yet to win reg- ulatory approval, already is the topic of an ongoing fed- eral audit. On Wednesday, state lawmakers ordered a state audit of the tunnels- spending as well. On Thursday, state spokeswoman Nancy Vo- gel said that despite the ac- count of the Los Angeles- based Metropolitan Water District, no money from the state's general fund would be used finishing the cur- rent planning phase of the twin tunnels. However, op- ponents of the tunnels and a taxpayer group were crit- ical Thursday, and Assem- blywoman Susan Eggman, one of the state lawmakers behind this week's audit or- der, asked the state Thurs- day for clarification. "It's a shell game," said David Wolfe, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Associa- tion's legislative director. "I think it comes back to the audit (request) yester- day: There are way more questions here than there are answers." The tunnels project is endorsed by Brown and by some politically influential water districts and water customers in Central and Southern California. Sup- porters say the tunnels would benefit the environ- ment and offer Califor- nians a more secure water supply. Opponents say they fear the state will use the tunnels to divert too much water from the Sacramento River and San Francisco Bay, harming Northern California and further en- dangering native species there. Metropolitan and other water districts slated to get water from the tunnels have yet to commit to pay- ing for them, out of uncer- tainty whether the mas- sive spending would really bring them enough water to make the cost worth- while. The same water dis- tricts also announced this year they would not pay to complete the current pre- liminary work on the tun- nels unless the project first won regulatory approval. On Thursday, a monthly report published by the LA- based water district on the tunnels project said, "the state has indicated that any additional funding needs to complete the planning phase will be provided by state or federal sources." After all that local water districts had spent on the project, including $63 mil- lion from his water district, "This is to be expected" that the state would use government money to close out planning, said Bob Muir, spokesman for the LA-based water district. He referred further questions to Vogel, the state spokes- woman. Vogel said the state in- tended to pull money to finish the tunnels planning from user fees for an exist- ing, half-century-old wa- ter network, the State Wa- ter Project. Tunnel opponents, how- ever, point to a measure state lawmakers passed in 2009 that they say bars the state from spending money on the tunnels until the water agencies that would benefit commit to paying for them. "Project contractors pledged to pay for this project and they've used financial gimmicks to get around this obligation," said Patricia Schifferle, an environmental consultant and longtime opponent of the proposed tunnels. "It raises questions as to where this money was sud- denly found." TWIN TUNNELS New questions over California water project RICH PEDRONCELLI — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Sha Xinog climbs the bank to get more bait while fishing along the California Aquaduct near Firebaugh. 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