What was supposed to be about transparency has essentially created a monster, but, then, transparency and accountability are things mostly missing from the Cult of Climastrology
California’s climate change regulator chooses self-preservation over transparency
When the next governor is sworn in January, he will have the opportunity to shape policy by filling the many state boards and commissions with his appointees — except, apparently, to the powerful agency charged with overseeing California’s ambitious climate change program.
Last week the California Air Resources Board approved a plan to set new, staggered six-year terms for the board’s 14 voting members, 12 of whom are subject to gubernatorial appointment. The terms were required by a bill passed by the Legislature in 2016.
Previously, board members were all at-will appointments who could have been replaced at any time — or as often happened, remain on the board for years and years. Now, members will serve fixed terms and can’t be replaced until their term is up. And under the distinctly backloaded schedule adopted by the board, most of governor’s appointees won’t come up for review until December 2020 and December 2022. (snip)
Even worse, though, was the secretive way the Air Resource Board handled the change. Board members had the plan for phasing in the new terms for nearly two weeks, yet the agency refused to make the plan public on its website until a few hours before the vote. That left little opportunity for advocacy groups to weigh in.
Well, that’s perfect, because they’re pretty secretive on how they spend all the money forcibly taken from Californians and California businesses.
Yet one of the reasons lawmakers overhauled the board as part of Assembly Bill 197 in 2016 was to give lawmakers and the public more say over this powerful panel, which sets environmental policies that often become the template for the nation. The measure allowed the governor to continue filling most of the seats on the board, but imposed six-year terms to give the Legislature some oversight when seats came up for review and confirmation.
It appears as if once a person is confirmed to the board, they cannot be dismissed till the end of the term. There’s almost no accountability, and they can pretty much do what they want. Who regulates the regulators?
