Stating
that the law would have hurt consumers and had “little positive impact,”
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
vetoed AB 2270, the water softener ban bill, on Sept. 30.
Stating
that the law would have hurt consumers and had “little positive impact,”
California Governor
Arnold Schwarzenegger
vetoed AB 2270, the water softener ban bill, on Sept. 30.
“We
created a cascade of opposition from the makers, sellers and users of water
softeners,” said
Peter Censky, executive
director of the Water Quality Association. “Fortunately, common sense prevailed
in the end.”
Schwarzenegger acknowledged the
reality of salinity problems. However, he said in his veto message that the
bill includes provisions “that go too far in limiting residential use of water
softeners.”
The WQA, the Pacific Water
Quality Association and others in the industry put together a coalition to
oppose the bill. This coalition included retail “big-box” companies, major
brand names, dealers and many of their employees, and the Retail Merchant’s
Association.
The coalition sent nearly 1,000
letters to legislators against the bill. The PWQA, the WQA and other retailers
hired a lobbyist, and two industry members - Culligan and GE - also hired
lobbyists and communications firms. A major awareness and e-mailing campaign
led to the placement of three full-page ads in the
Sacramento Bee.
Through
a new Web site,
SaveMySoftener.com, the industry helped direct more than 14,000
consumer e-mails to every legislator in California and the governor’s office,
expressing their personal opposition to the ban.
Water Quality Bill
Schwarzenegger did sign
AB 2222, a bill by Assembly member
Anna
Caballero (D-Salinas), which directs the state’s water quality agency to
develop answers to the problem of contaminated drinking water.
“The state’s own groundwater monitoring program shows that more than
100,000 Californians lack access to clean, safe drinking water,” said
Caballero.
AB 2222 directs the State Water Resources Control Board to recommend to
the legislature policy solutions to address acute drinking water problems in
areas where communities rely primarily on groundwater. The board has been
conducting groundwater monitoring since 2002. The program has gathered data
from the 16,000 public drinking wells, and its work is nearly complete. The
data documents the closure of more than 8,000 public drinking water wells since
1984 - in most cases, due to contamination.
AB 2222 takes effect on Jan. 1, 2009.
