Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Inventory of the California State Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee Records
see series description
No online items
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: Inventory of the California State Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee Records
Dates: 1980-2004
Collection number: see series description
Creator:
Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee
Collection Size:
40 cubic feet
Repository:
California State Archives
Sacramento, California
Abstract: The Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee Records consist of approximately 40 cubic feet of textual
records and audio-visual materials. The records cover the years 1980-2004 and are comprised of bill files, hearing files,
subject files, and correspondence.
Physical location: California State Archives
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Collection is open for research.
For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication
is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility
for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives
collections.
[Identification of item], [Committee Name], LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary
of State, Sacramento, California.
The California State Archives acquired the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee records according to
state law.
The California State Assembly first considered bills relating to toxics and the environment during the 1979-1980 legislative
session when the Toxic Substances subcommittee was created under the Labor, Employment, and Consumer Affairs Committee. By
passage of House Resolution 15 on January 29, 1980, The Assembly Rules Committee officially created an independent committee
for toxics legislation called the Assembly Consumer Protection and Toxic Materials Committee.
The eight members of the committee on Consumer Protection and Toxic materials generally considered bills relating to product
safety, toxic and chemical hazards, and environmental pollutants. At the start of the 1985-1986 session, House Resolution
9 briefly divided the committee in two, creating both the Assembly Consumer Protection Committee and the Assembly Toxic Materials
Committee. By mid January however, the 15-member committee rejoined under the current name of Assembly Environmental Safety
and Toxic Materials Committee.
Senator Sally Tanner (D) served as the Committee's first Chairwoman from 1981-1992 and was subsequently followed Tom Umberg
(D, 1993-1996), Howard Wayne (D, 1997-1998), Hannah-Beth Jackson (D, 1999-2002), and John Laird (D, 2003-2004).
The Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee Records consist of approximately 40 cubic feet of textual
records and audio-visual materials. The records cover the years 1980-2004 and are comprised of bill files, hearing files,
subject files, and correspondence. It is anticipated that the Archives will receive further records from the Assembly Environmental
Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, as it remains a functional standing committee in the California State Senate. Researchers
should inquire with the reference archivist about recently received, unprocessed records of the committee.
The records created by the California State Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee will be of great interest
to researchers looking at environmental regulation in the 1980s and 1990s. With environmental failures like the Love Canal,
Chernobyl, and the Exxon Valdez oil spill gaining global attention, legislation passed in California reflected new concerns
for chemicals and their potential for damage to natural resources.
The majority of records consist of bill files that cover the years 1980-2004. Committee hearing files span from 1980-2000
and comprise approximately five cubic feet of the collection. Furthermore, there are approximately two cubic feet of subject
files from the years 1993-2000 that contain records on specific toxic materials like asbestos and polychlorinated biphenyls.
Most frequently bills reviewed by the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee pertain to the regulation
of toxic material storage, transportation, and cleanup, and also include issues concerning the designation of Superfund sites.
Files also deal with establishing standards for industries, especially those involved in fire protection, pipeline safety,
and waste disposal. Numerous files concern issues such as marine pollution, toxic air contaminants, and ground use for hazardous
waste storage.
Many of the bills considered by the committee drew substantial public interest. However, two bills in particular were the
basis for a significant amount of outside opinion. Assembly Bill 733 from 1995-1996 concerning state mandated drinking water
fluoridation and Senate Bill 521 from 1995-1996 concerning Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether (MTBE) fuel additive received a considerable
amount of public correspondence.
Along with these bills, the researcher may also be interested in looking at a significant hearing that occurred during the
committee's 1985-1986 session. The oversight hearing on the Willco Dump took place in Los Angeles County in the district of
Assemblywoman Maxine Waters, and investigated claims that while constructing the Century Freeway (Interstate 5) through a
former refuse site known as Willco, the California Department of Transportation may have deliberately understated quantities
of toxic materials they found and had removed through questionable contractual agreements. The hearing files consist of over
a cubic foot of records, which includes audiotapes and transcribed accounts of the hearing.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee
Waste disposal.
Drinking water
Related Collections at the California State Archives
Sally Tanner Papers
Howard Wayne Papers
Hannah-Beth Jackson Papers