Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the California Environmental, Public Health and Worker’s Defense Act of 2019, was authored by Senator Toni Atkins. SB 1 is designed to defend California’s clean air, water, and wildlife from the reckless attempts by the Trump administration to derail key protections, including dramatically weakening the federal Endangered Species Act, repealing the Clean Water Rule and jeopardizing the drinking water supplies of millions of Americans, and loosening prohibitions on the importation of trophy hunted endangered species. This bill was heard and voted out of six policy committees and two appropriations committees.
Statement issued by Kim Delfino, Defenders of Wildlife:
“We congratulate Senator Atkins for her leadership in authoring and passing SB 1 out of the California Legislature. She worked tirelessly to retain SB 1’s integrity as she defended the bill against attacks by the special interests who are benefitting the most from federal rollbacks in environmental protections.
“SB 1 is an important tool for California to use to respond to damaging federal rollbacks to protect California residents and natural resources. The Trump administration continues to recklessly undermine dozens of critical federal protections to benefit special interests. Last month, the administration launched an unprecedented attack on the Endangered Species Act, rolling back critical protections for imperiled species and their habitat at a time when our world is facing an extinction crisis. This week, the Trump Administration weakened Clean Water Act protections.
“The passage of SB 1 could not come at a better time. This fall, the Trump administration will unveil significant new attacks on California’s water, fish and wildlife, and communities.
“We urge Governor Newsom to sign SB 1. We must defend California from the onslaught of federal attacks on our environment and public health. This bill will give California important tools to break the old paradigm of putting the health of our fish and wildlife last at the behest of the entrenched and powerful industrial water interests and instead chart a new course that will leave a future California with a healthy and thriving environment for all.”
Defenders of Wildlife is celebrating 75 years of protecting all native animals and plants in their natural communities. With a nationwide network of nearly 2.2 million members and activists, Defenders of Wildlife is a leading advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard our wildlife heritage for generations to come. For more information, visit defenders.org/newsroom and follow us on Twitter @Defenders.
