SB 968 Lives to See Another Day, Heads to Assembly

Despite efforts by Khosla's lobbying team to kill SB 968 in Appropriations last week, a majority of Senators voted to pass the bill out of committee and on to the Senate floor.  Just before 5pm yesterday, the Senate passed SB 968 with a vote of 22 to 11.  The bill will move on to the Assembly for consideration.

Needless to say, we are STOKED!  Our full press release on the matter can be viewed here.

Now, to gear up for the Assembly...

Citizens can take action to support the bill in the Assembly by writing a letter to their Assemblymember here: http://tinyurl.com/pass-sb968.

Citizens are also encouraged to write their Senator in response to the Senator's vote for or against SB 968 and public beach access.  You can find your State Senator here: http://www.legislature.ca.gov/legislators_and_districts/legislators/your_legislator.html, and can find your Senator's vote on this bill here: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/13-14/bill/sen/sb_0951-1000/sb_968_vote_20140528_0442PM_sen_floor.html.

Khosla Hires Lobbyists to Kill SB 968

As earlier reported, State Senator Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo) introduced an important bill earlier this year to provide permanent access to Martin's Beach.  SB 968 has passed through two Senate committees thus far, and awaits a hearing in the Appropriations Committee this Friday.

Yesterday, it was learned that Khosla, or rather Steven Baugher of Martin's Beach I and II, LLCs, hired lobbying firm California Strategies & Advocacy, LLC to try and kill this bill.  It is curious why Khosla waited this long, but in any case, this move comes just days before this key committee hearing.  If the bill does not pass out of Appropriations, it will be laid to rest until it is possibly taken back up next year.

The selection of California Strategies to lobby against the bill is intriguing.  Back in February of this year, Capitol Weekly reported on the Fair Political Practices Commission Enforcement Division's annual violations report.  2013 was characterized as one of the worst years ever in terms of the number of violations and prosecutions related to lobbying and campaign practices.  In this report and article, California Strategies and three of its partners--Jason Kinney, Rusty Areias, and Winston Hickox--are specifically called out for their violation of the Political Reform Act due to their failure to register as lobbyists.

You might think that someone with billions of dollars could hire a more reputable firm, but perhaps this was done intentionally.

The method of lobbying that this firm is (or at least was) purported to use is referred to as "shadow lobbying," which is characterized as former politicians and high-level staff members who serve as "consultants" and provide advice to decision-makers without being clear that they are actually paid lobbyists. 

We are hopeful that legislators and staff at the capitol will see through this guise and base their decisions on what's best for the public and not what's best for one wealthy individual. 

State Legislature Steps Up to Bat

As most followers are aware, earlier in February, Senator Jerry Hill (D- San Mateo), introduced a bill to establish permanent access to Martin's Beach.  Senate Bill 968 requires that the State Lands Commission consult and enter negotiations with the property owner adjacent to the beach (Vinod Khosla) to purchase land required to provide permanent public access to the public beach.  The bill further states that if purchase cannot be negotiated by 2016, the State Lands Commission shall acquire an access easement via eminent domain. 

Surfrider Foundation is grateful for the introduction of this bill and grateful that the legislature is considering a means for addressing this very important loss of access to Martin's Beach. 

The bill has passed through the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water with a 7-2 vote. Senators Evans, Hueso, Jackson, Lara, Monning, Pavley, and Wolk voting to pass the bill, and Senators Cannella and Fuller voting against it.  If you are a constituent, please consider hand-writing a note to any of these Senators to either thank them for their vote, or to urge them to reconsider their vote when the bill comes before them again.  (Contact info can be found here.  If you're not sure who your Senator is, you can find out here.)

SB 968 is to be heard today, on Earth Day, by the Senate Committee on Judiciary.