Battles Won - Battles Lost
2000, 1999, 1997-1998, 1995-1996, 1993-1994, 1992, 1991, 1989-1990, 1988, 1987, 1986, 1985, 1984, 1983
1988
AB 4037, Chapter 932, Statutes of 1988 Landfill Gas - Toxicity- Requires the California Public Utilities Commission to adopt a rule or order to specify the maximum amount of vinyl chloride that may be found in landfill gas. Prohibits a gas corporation from knowingly and intentionally exposing any person to gas that contains a chemical known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity without first warning the person. Requires testing of landfill gas at the point of distribution and requires review of those tests by the air pollution control district and the Department of Health Services.
AB 4129, Chapter 1317, Statutes of 1988 California State University - Loan Collection Contracts- Grants the Trustees of the California State University the ability to award contracts to contractors for the collection of delinquent education loans required to be paid under federal law.
ACR 39, Resolution Chapter 102, Statutes of 1987 Incentives for improving undergraduate teaching- Requests colleges and universities to adopt and enforce policies and incentives for improving teaching and to report to the educational policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature the actions taken towards implementation of this measure and the costs associated with full implementation.
ACR 41, Resolution Chapter 103, Statutes of 1988 English proficiency of teaching assistants- Requests the University of California take steps to ensure the English proficiency of its teaching assistants.
ACR 152, Resolution Chapter 145, Statutes of 1988 Video Display Terminals- Requests the Ad Hoc Committee on Video Display Terminals report to the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board with proposals regarding the necessity for video display terminal related standards.
1988-99 Hearings on Meeting the Challenge of AIDS, final report May 1989: Tom Hayden, Chairman, Subcommittee on Higher Education. Recommendations:
* UC should increase its task force membership to include additional social/behavioral scientists as full participants as well as DHS and public health experts. (accepted)
* UC recruit gay and racial minority researchers. (accepted)
* UC increase the speed and accessibility of its drug trials without compromising research integrity (accepted).
* UC give greater attention to research and education on women with HIV.
1988 Budget Item
* Intent language requiring more independent oversight of the Livermore and Los Alamos nuclear labs with particular emphasis on protecting scientific inquiry and dissent.
The Turn Towards Initiatives: Prop 65 (1986) and Prop 99 (1988).
By the late Eighties, I had concluded that conventional politics - "working within the system" - was unworkable except at the margins. I had a voice, a vote, a mandate to speak out, and could create temporary majorities around single issues. But the Governor was conservative, a large faction of Democrats embraced the system of power, and special interest lobbyists had a real stranglehold on election campaign financing.
In 1986, therefore, I shifted to another model. In addition to working within the Sacramento system, I became committed to grass-roots initiative campaigns - taking policy decisions right to the voters themselves, circumventing the Sacramento process.
The Campaign for Economic Democracy (CED) a statewide grass-roots political movement which I helped found in 1979, was the perfect vehicle. It activists could go door-to-door. We could develop an anti-politics politics, as Vaclev Havel would later say.
Get Tough on Toxics" (Prop 65) We started with Proposition 65, an anti-toxics measure which required the state to identify cancer-causing chemicals, ban them from drinking water, and provide clear warning signs to employees and consumers. We were outspent 7-1, but the measure passed in November 1986 by 63%.
The promise of Prop 65 was thwarted, however, by Republican administrations who retained the power to appoint the scientific panels. So it, too, was a great disappointment. Was there no populist way directly around the established political bureaucracy?
"Tax Big Tobacco" (Prop 99) In 1988, there came a second opportunity, Prop 99, a tripling of tobacco taxes with the funds going to health care and anti-tobacco education programs. CED provided much of the leadership and organizational muscle, and Prop 99 passed with 57%, even though tobacco interests spent $20 million against our meager $1.3.
The fight to implement Prop 99 has been successful, though tobacco interests have used every devious trick imaginable to block its effect. The biggest gain was a 17% reduction in tobacco use in California over a five-year period, largely due to stinging anti-tobacco television advertisements funded with the industry's own money. In addition, at least $2 billion has been channeled into health care, especially for victims of tobacco addiction.
Sample Legislative Obituary, 1988 Bills by Assemblyman Hayden that Were Killed or Vetoed (just in case the reader thinks all my bills were signed).
*AB 3463 California Education Trust. Would have established a pre-paid tuition system in the face of rising college costs. Anyone would be able to invest in a kid's future education through pre-paying, in lump sum or regular payments, tuition at present levels. The funds would be invested along with the state's pooled pension funds, and the rate of return would absorb the future cost of university fees. Adopted in several other states, I tried several times to enact this legislation but was vetoed twice. The higher education lobbyists were concerned that the legislation would restrain future fee increases (which was false, but not a bad idea!). Eventually, eight years later, Republican Assemblyman carried a watered-down version of the program, calling it "ScholarShare". It helped with financing higher education, but lacked the guaranteed admission for all qualified and pre-paid students which I thought would appeal to inner city residents.
* AB 4039 Incentives for employers to expand employer-sponsored child care. Defeated.
* AB 4116 Requiring state armories be opened as shelters for the homeless in winter conditions. Defeated.
* AB 4119 Allowing non-profits to make deposits guaranteeing homeless people rental housing. Defeated.
* AB 4120 Requirement of asbestos warnings to employees in schools and universities. Defeated.
* AB 4122 Prohibition on Coastal Commission members engaging in political fund-raising activities. Defeated.
This started a war with Speaker Willie Brown, a war I tried to avoid at first. The problem was that Speaker Brown's appointee to the Coastal Commission in my region, Mark Nathanson, was shaking down coastal applicants for campaign contributions and I didn't like it. He also was a pro-development vote on the Commission which enabled the Governor, with his pro-development appointees, to wield an effective majority on nearly all environmental matters. |
Tom Hayden is national co-director of No More Sweatshops!, a coalition of labor, clergy, community and campus advocates of "sweat-free" guidelines on public procurement and enforceable labor standards for corporate behavior.
