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| Title and Summary | Analysis | Arguments and Rebuttals | Text of Proposed Law |
PROP |
ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLES AND RENEWABLE ENERGY. BONDS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. |
| ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF PROPOSITION 10 |
ARGUMENT AGAINST PROPOSITION 10 |
You can take action today to reduce California’s dependence on foreign oil; reduce air pollution that causes asthma and cancer; and create new green technology jobs to strengthen our state’s economy—without raising taxes. Vote Yes on Proposition 10. PROPOSITION 10 WILL PROVIDE URGENTLY NEEDED FUNDING TO:
YES ON 10 WILL LEAD US TO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE Californians pay billions of dollars to hostile foreign governments while the price of gasoline soars to record levels. Proposition 10 will increase our energy independence through the production of electricity from wind, solar, and other renewable sources and by giving California motorists the choice to buy vehicles that run on electricity produced from renewable sources and cheaper domestic alternative fuels. PROPOSITION 10 MEANS CLEAN AIR AND A HEALTHIER FUTURE FOR US AND OUR CHILDREN Most of our transportation fuels, such as gasoline and diesel, create pollution that contains carcinogens and toxins that cause asthma and cancer. Dirty, aging diesel trucks are a leading source of air pollution. As a result, California has four of the ten most polluted cities in America according to the American Lung Association. Proposition 10 will help replace more than 28,000 diesel trucks with trucks that run on cleaner alternative fuels. It will also provide rebates for consumers who purchase more fuel efficient vehicles and vehicles which run on clean alternative fuels that meet or surpass the state’s global warming goals. PROPOSITION 10 WILL GIVE CONSUMERS MORE ALTERNATIVES TO HIGH-PRICED GASOLINE Record high gas prices are squeezing California’s families and hurting our economy. Proposition 10 invests in research and development of less expensive cleaner alternative fuels and provides rebates to give consumers the choice of purchasing alternative fuel vehicles. PROPOSITION 10 WILL STRENGTHEN CALIFORNIA’S ECONOMY By making a significant investment in clean and renewable energy technologies, Proposition 10 will reduce our dependence on foreign oil, develop new clean energy industries in California, and create thousands of good-paying jobs. YES ON 10 HAS STRICT ACCOUNTABILITY AND EFFICIENCY STANDARDS Proposition 10 has strict accountability standards to guarantee that funds are used properly. Independent financial analysis and audits are required. Rebates for the purchase of alternative fuel or high-mileage vehicles will be given directly to consumers. There are no new bureaucracies created by Proposition 10. PROPOSITION 10 WILL NOT RAISE TAXES, FEES, OR UTILITY RATES Proposition 10 will not raise sales tax rates, vehicle license fees, or utility rates. It will generate millions of dollars for California communities from the sale of new alternative fuel vehicles. FOR ENERGY INDEPENDENCE, CLEANER AIR, A HEALTHIER FUTURE FOR OUR CHILDREN, AND A STRONGER ECONOMY, PLEASE VOTE YES ON PROPOSITION 10. DR. ALAN HENDERSON, Past President REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF PROPOSITION 10 Prop. 10 will cost taxpayers nearly $10,000,000,000 in long-term debt. Money that won’t go to schools, roads, health care, or public safety. Money that could go primarily to one company owned by the sponsor of this initiative. That’s not good public policy. Proposition 10’s money would give taxpayer subsidies up to $50,000 each to buyers of trucks and other vehicles that run on a fossil fuel, natural gas. It is not about “alternative fuels.” Despite proponents’ claims, Prop. 10 is craftily written to all but exclude hybrids, plug-in hybrids, electric cars, and other clean fuels. This well-concealed tilt to one fuel will chiefly benefit Proposition 10’s sponsor, Texas oil billionaire T. Boone Pickens. His company is a major supplier of natural gas for vehicles. Proponents’ claims of cleaner air and accountability fail to tell you:
No guarantees. None. Economists will also tell you that increasing demand for natural gas can indeed raise your utility rates. During a budget crisis, we shouldn't be handing $10 billion in taxpayer dollars to special interest gimmicks. Vote NO on Prop. 10! DONNA GERBER, Director of Government |
What do you call it when one company puts a measure on the ballot to put taxpayer dollars in their own pockets? Special interest legislation. Corporate welfare. Ripping off the taxpayers. That’s the truth about Proposition 10. One company, owned by Texas billionaire oilman T. Boone Pickens, paid ALL the money for the signatures that put this measure on the ballot ($3,000,000!). And—surprise—they are first in line to get the lion’s share of the taxpayer dollars it would appropriate. Proposition 10 would take nearly $10 BILLION OF YOUR TAX DOLLARS primarily to subsidize trucks and large vehicles so that they can run on natural gas sold by—you guessed it—companies like the one owned by T. Boone Pickens. Even if it was not a special interest sweetheart deal, Proposition 10 would still make no sense. Here’s what it does: In the middle of a budget crisis, it takes taxpayer dollars away from education, healthcare, public safety, and universities in order to provide fleet operators, including very large and profitable corporations, a subsidy for buying or leasing natural gas trucks. That’s right. It gives these corporations up to a $50,000 rebate per truck they buy or lease—without even a requirement that their exhaust will improve air quality. The state already has a $200 million clean fuels program, paid for by fees, not by cutting vital services. The existing program funds all clean transportation, without a bias toward natural gas. Prop. 10 also duplicates programs that ratepayers are already paying for. Today, electricity ratepayers provide billions to alternative energy through the rates we pay, with closely regulated oversight by the Public Utilities Commission. Prop. 10 would make us pay for virtually the same thing but with less oversight—and the companies will get paid whether they produce any power or not! Consumers will be hurt too. Most of our home heating and much of our electricity comes from natural gas. So, what happens if we subsidize natural gas vehicles, greatly increasing the demand for expensive natural gas? Our electricity and heating bills will go up! Tens of millions of dollars in Proposition 10 are directed to public relations, outreach, and other marketing gimmicks. Bonds should be used for paying off infrastructure like roads and schools over time—not for public relations. Prop. 10 is not what it appears. Read the language carefully. We all have serious concerns about the environment and want to act responsibly. Providing what appear to be incentives to act more responsibly in our choice of vehicles sounds great. But Prop. 10 is dishonest about its intent. It provides little real, sound alternative energy or technology. Prop. 10 requires long-term borrowing for short-term benefits and potentially obsolete technology. Prop. 10 is bad for taxpayers, bad for vital public services, bad for consumers, and bad for the environment. What is it good for? It could provide billions to the company who put it on the ballot. Vote NO on 10. LENNY GOLDBERG, Executive Director California Federation of Teachers REBUTTAL TO ARGUMENT AGAINST PROPOSITION 10 READ THE OFFICIAL LEGISLATIVE ANALYST REPORT OR GO TO WWW.PROP10YES.COM AND READ THE INITIATIVE. THE SACRAMENTO LOBBYISTS WHO OPPOSE PROPOSITION 10 AREN’T TELLING THE TRUTH. HERE ARE THE FACTS:
Proposition 10 gives rebates directly to California residents for the purchase of clean alternative fuel vehicles; more than a billion dollars for California renewable energy generation projects, including solar and wind; and grants for California colleges and universities.
Studies conducted by the California Air Resources Board found diesel exhaust fumes contribute to thousands of premature deaths from cancer each year and will raise healthcare costs by up to $200 billion by the year 2020. Proposition 10 provides $1 billion to replace the aging, polluting diesel trucks on our roads with clean trucks that run on electricity, hydrogen, natural gas, or other clean alternative fuels.
Proposition 10 provides $100 million in grants to California colleges and universities to educate and train workers for green technology jobs. An additional $500 million is provided for research and development of cheaper and cleaner alternatives to gasoline.
Proposition 10 will ensure our kids breathe cleaner air, are less dependent on foreign oil, have alternatives to gasoline-powered vehicles, and use electricity that is generated in California from solar, wind, and other clean renewable sources. Vote YES on Proposition 10. DR. ALAN HENDERSON, Past President |
Arguments printed on this page are the opinions of the authors and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency.
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