Governor Jerry Brown says he will be dead before the end of a proposed extension of the carbon emissions cap and trade program, but he is passionate about what the program will do for people who will still be alive.
The Governor firmly denies claims cap and trade will lead to 90 cent gas price spikes, and he claims it will cost the state triple or more with even stricter emissions controls the Air Resources Board would implement without cap and trade. "This is the most important vote of your life," Governor Brown said, "unless you think I'm lying, and I was in the seminary for three years, and I'm telling you this is the truth as I understand it, and the only way I can be wrong is if I don't get it, if I'm stupid and ignorant, and I'm not. I've been around this business a long time."
Photo by Ryan Harris, KFBK
Republican Senator Ted Gaines of El Dorado doesn't buy the Governor's denial of the analysis on gas prices.
Gaines said if gas price hikes happen as expected, "That can translate up to $1,200 dollars a year for a family with two vehicles, driving 20,000 miles a year, getting an average of 20 miles a gallon.
Photo by Ryan Harris, KFBK
The bill passed the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on a 5-2 party line vote.