SACRAMENTO, California — California’s Senate quietly blocked an assemblymember’s move last week to advance the extension of the state’s cap-and-trade program — a procedural maneuver that highlights how far lawmakers remain from a deal before the Sept. 12 deadline.
What happened: Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D) tried to insert her proposed language extending the signature carbon market from 2030 through 2045 into her planned legislative vehicle, AB 1207, on Thursday, according to two Assembly aides granted anonymity because of the sensitivity of the deliberations. But the Senate, which controls the bill because it has already passed the Assembly, refused to allow the amendments.
Instead, Irwin is pivoting to formally introduce the language into AB 710, a proposed bill of hers on gift card thefts that has stalled in the Assembly, through a process known as gut-and-amend, the aides said. The new bill was not yet in print Tuesday morning but was expected by the end of the week.
The move means she’ll need to get all of her own colleagues in the Assembly on board with the language before sending it to the Senate for consideration, slowing her momentum and exposing her to fissures in the Assembly.
