California has made a practice of resisting changes to environmental regulations pursued by the Trump administration, but the latest legislative effort to protect the state's waterways was a bridge too far for the governor.
Dale Kasler and Kate Irby report on a schism in the Democratic party in California over the fate of a state bill that would have bolstered environmental protections for waterways and fish in the face of pressure from the Trump administration.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has promised to veto Senate Bill 1, according to the article.
Newsom, who has sparred repeatedly with President Donald Trump and generally sided with environmental interests since taking office in January, said he’ll veto the legislation even though he supports its general principles of keeping California’s air, water and endangered species safe. The bill would have essentially negated every environmental rule proposed by Trump, turning the regulatory clock back to Jan. 19, 2017, the day before he took office.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration is preparing additional steps to relax the state's environmental protections:
In a matter of days, the federal government is scheduled to release controversial new rules governing the movement of water through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta; the rules are expected to favor the delivery of additional water supplies to farmers in the San Joaquin Valley.
More on the reasoning behind Gov. Newsom's veto decision, the political fallout among other Democrats in the state, and the potential environmental consequences of the Trump administration's rule changes are included in the article.
FULL STORY: A fight with Trump that Gavin Newsom doesn’t want: Why he’s vetoing environmental bill
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