Follow state on warming, Congress told

California legislators want tough new federal limits that don’t dilute local rules

Washington — California’s top legislators urged federal lawmakers Thursday to follow the state’s leading role in the fight against global warming by passing stringent national limits on greenhouse gases.

But state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, and Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, also cautioned Congress during their testimony on Capitol Hill not to enact any legislation that would block even stronger measures taken by state and local governments to combat climate change.


Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, called state and local officials from California, New Jersey, Washington and Iowa to testify about their actions in the absence of federal legislation addressing global warming.

“They are sending us a signal that we should heed,” Boxer said at the hearing.

SF Chronicle