By DAVID ZELENICKA, Associated Press AUSTIN (AP) It’s been a rough few weeks for California Gov.
Gavin Newsom, whose signature climate change initiative was gutted by a legislative battle and is now under attack by Republicans.
Newsom signed a $25 billion package Thursday that reduces greenhouse gas emissions, cuts the state’s greenhouse gas pollution and cuts back on the state spending that often comes with it.
Newsoms signature was meant to put an end to the costly and costly battles over his state’s budget and other state issues.
It was also meant to cut the state out of the costly national fight over global warming, but he faced a long battle with Republicans.
He has made a concerted effort to keep the state on a path toward becoming a cleaner, greener economy, but a few weeks ago he got caught up in a political fight over whether to sign a federal spending bill that had passed the House and Senate and was awaiting Gov.
Jerry Brown’s signature.
The bill would provide $25,000 to every California resident for a $100 cap-and-trade system to combat global warming.
It also would cap carbon emissions at 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2020.
The governor has promised to veto any bill that increases the carbon price, and he and the legislature have been at odds over the past year over the size of the cap- and-trade program.
Newsome and other Republicans argued that a cap-to-cost approach could lead to higher energy costs for businesses and people and the loss of jobs in the state.
The state legislature voted to increase the cap on emissions and to reduce the state subsidy on gasoline to encourage alternative energy sources, including solar and wind.
Brown said the bill would save California billions of dollars over the next decade by reducing carbon emissions.
“Climate change is real and it’s real fast, and it is impacting our lives and our economy.
We are taking actions to prepare ourselves and our children to handle the impacts, to live in a world that is more resilient and more resilient to the effects of climate change,” he said.
Brown’s administration has argued that the bill will save the state billions of tax dollars by reducing greenhouse gas pollutants and boosting the economy.
Newsomm and the Legislature have been negotiating for months on a new $2 billion climate fund that would help California’s economy, which has struggled to meet the needs of a growing population and a growing number of workers without health insurance.
It’s also the first time the state has taken on a federal government program that would be funded by taxes on carbon dioxide emissions.