Four for the Governor’s John Hancock : Worthy legislation for toxic waste, venue changes and utility rates

Hundreds of bills enacted by the Legislature in its closing hours are now on Gov. Pete Wilson’s desk awaiting his signature to become law. Among those The Times has previously endorsed that merit special attention:

RADIOACTIVE WASTE: In case after case of failed toxic waste disposal, the taxpayer has been stuck paying a huge cleanup bill or paying damages after legal action. California now has under active consideration opening a low-level radioactive waste dump in the Ward Valley area of the Mojave Desert. Whatever the merits of that proposal, few dispute that it would expose the state to potential liability problems. In response, AB 2500 would create a $25-million liability fund via a surcharge on those depositing waste into the dump. Though imperfect, the bill is necessary taxpayer self-defense.

WASTE RECYCLING: AB 3798 addresses the low-level radioactive waste problem at the source by calling on waste generators to recycle as much waste as is feasible. Stronger language would have made for a better bill, but here too we endorse a step in the right direction.

CHANGE OF VENUE: SB 1427 was introduced as a result of the riots that followed the not-guilty verdicts in the Rodney King beating case.

The bill would not change the rules governing whether a trial can be moved from one county to another when pretrial publicity makes a fair trial impossible in the county where the crime occurred. It would, however, impose a new criterion on a judge’s selection of the so-called receiving county, directing judges to consider explicitly the extent to which the new county demographically resembles the one where the charge was brought.

Among those characteristics considered would be race, age, ethnicity and income. The integrity of our justice system depends upon the perception of fairness as well as the procedural and substantive outcomes in individual cases.

UTILITY RATES: AB 1432 reaffirms a commitment to utility rates that reward users who conserve gas and electricity. In 1975, the Legislature directed the Public Utilities Commission to establish a “lifeline” quantity of gas and electricity--that is, enough to supply average residential users. Customers who stayed within that amount paid lower than average rates; energy consumed above the “lifeline” threshold cost more. The Legislature and the PUC have since undermined this common-sense rate structure; Wilson’s signature on AB 1432 will set the PUC on a renewed course toward utility rate fairness.

The governor’s signature on these bills would advance the cause for a clean environment, a trusted judicial system and fair utility rates.