Assemblyman Leland Yee: Renewable Energy, Voting Rights

As a nation, when it comes to energy production we seem to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. The price of energy is climbing ever higher, energy which is the lifeblood of our economy and a necessity for our current way of life. Our ability to develop new sources of energy is going to decide what direction we are headed in the 21st century.

However, the degradation of our environment is of great concern to all of us, as we all want to breathe clean air and drink clean water. With the inconvenient truth that the Earth is getting warmer becoming more and more apparent, we need to take more aggressive steps to lower our greenhouse emissions.

With that thought in mind, I authored Assembly Bill 1969. Currently, small and medium-sized water agencies have great potential to generate approximately 250 new megawatts of power in California, which would power hundreds of thousands of homes with absolutely no negative environmental impacts.

As of now, these facilities are not allowed to capture electricity from their normal operations. Wastewater and public water agencies that could very easily be generating electricity by installing turbines, solar panels and the means of harvesting biogas are an untapped resource that we as a state have been ignoring.Ê Ê

My legislation will require electrical companies to set up standard contracts for the purpose of purchasing renewable energy from these water and sewer agencies, thus increasing the supply of environmentally-friendly renewable energy.Ê Ê

Laws are already in place requiring energy producers, such as PG&E, to purchase a percentage of the power they buy from renewable energy producers; AB 1969 provides a new source of such renewable energy. The bill has been passed by the Assembly and is currently being debated in the state Senate.

ÊAs we enter the summer of 2006, we will no doubt be getting plenty of the sun that the Golden State is known for. If trends continue, we will have more days of record-breaking heat throughout California. That is why now is the time for proactive legislation that will help encourage the energy industry to provide power in a way that benefits our environment, rather than damaging it.

Voting Rights Act
Still Important Today On Aug. 6 we celebrate the 41st anniversary of the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Signed into law to prevent discrimination against minorities and people of color at the polls, this landmark legislation has dramatically improved American life.

It has played a leading role in curtailing poll taxes, literacy tests and other discriminatory practices that prevented millions of Americans from exercising their right to vote solely because of their ethnicity. In a city as multicultural as San Francisco, we need to recognize the importance of the Voting Rights Act by promoting increased participation in the political process by all California citizens, especially African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos and other under-represented ethnic groups.

Today, in California, new citizens from Latin America, Asia and elsewhere are registering to vote in record numbers. As an Asian-American, I am especially pleased that the U.S. Senate recently voted to renew this breakthrough law that began a new era in American democracy 41 years ago, in 1965.

The Voting Rights Act was not only a major victory for civil rights, but also for democracy. Now in August of 2006, we embark on a new era that would not have been possible without the passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965. Throughout the country, a record number of people of color hold elected positions.

In California, the political influence of Chinese-Americans continues to grow as there are for the first time in state history now five Chinese-Americans from the same region elected to the California School Board Association Delegate Assembly.

While progress has been made in the last 41 years, there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve equality in our political and social system. Corporations that use derogatory images that divide us as a global society are still too common, which is why I authored AB 1179 in 2005, which will prohibit the sale of extremely violent and racist video games to minors.

The law was passed with the participation of many civil rights and women's groups. I also introduced AB 1207, which if passed will add a provision to the Code of Fair Campaign Practices that will ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. Anti-gay rhetoric in political campaigns has lead to violence against the LGBT community.

Utilizing the political process is very important if we are to achieve the society we deserve.

Please remember that our history as Americans reinforces the importance of political participation exemplified by the Voting Rights Act.

Leland Yee is the speaker pro tempore at the California Assembly.