Senator Cogdill Calls for Analysis of Jobs Lost Due to California’s Strict Environmental Regulations

On the same day the Senate held an informational hearing about the implementation of California’s regulations restricting greenhouse gas emissions, Senator Dave Cogdill (R-Modesto) today called for the Legislative Analyst to examine the overall impact this legislation will have on jobs in California.  Currently, California’s jobless rate is 12.3 percent, which is among the highest of any state in the nation and higher than the national average (10 percent).

Text of the letter:

January 7, 2010

Mac Taylor
Legislative Analyst
925 L Street, Suite 1000
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Mr. Taylor:

With the state facing the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, the Legislature’s top focus should be job creation.  As such, I have grave concerns about the detrimental economic impact of the implementation of stringent, unproven environmental policies, specifically, Assembly Bill 32 (Chaptered 2006).

Supporters of AB 32 tout the “green jobs” that will be created as a result of these policies.  However, I question whether these job creation numbers take into consideration the jobs lost in other industries.

The AB 32 Implementation Group and the California Manufacturers & Technology Association recently analyzed a draft greenhouse gas cap-and-trade proposal by the California Air Resources Board.  According to their analysis of the draft proposal, at $60 per ton of carbon, the average cost per gallon of gas would go up by 53 cents and each year, families would see their natural gas costs go up by $1,243 and electric bills go up by $200.  In total, these increased costs would be $143 billion over the first 9 years of the program. 

California’s businesses would not be able to be competitive while paying those exorbitant prices and will undoubtedly move out of state, where operating costs would be exponentially lower, taking well-paying jobs with them.  Protecting our environment should not come at the price of devastating our economy.

I would appreciate your analysis of the net impact on jobs as a result of the implementation of AB 32.

Sincerely,

Dave Cogdill
Senator, 14th District