California moves to pre-empt Trump on environment, endangered species
Needling President Donald Trump and bracing for a rollback of Obama-era environmental protections, Democrats in the nations most populous state are launching a preemptive strike.
California lawmakers are expected Thursday to propose legislation to fold existing federal air, water and endangered species standards into state law, sources said, enshrining pre-Trump levels of protection in California regardless of any reversal at the federal level.
The legislation, to be introduced by Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and other Democratic senators, would require state air and water pollution regulators to maintain environmental standards at least as stringent as federal law required before Trump took office. And it would add state-level protections for species currently listed as endangered or threatened on the federal Endangered Species Act.
In an effort to impede the Trump administration from transferring federal lands to private developers for oil drilling or other purposes, Democratic lawmakers are also expected to propose a bill to give the State Lands Commission right of first refusal on such transactions.
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http://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2017/02/california-moves-to-pre-empt-trump-on-environment-endangered-species-109820