Inventory of the California State Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee Records

Processed by Rebecca Crowther and Kaitlyn Crain
California State Archives
1020 "O" Street
Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: (916) 653-2246
Fax: (916) 653-7363
Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov
URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/
© 2014
California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.

Inventory of the California State Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee Records

Collection number: See series description for LP numbers

California State Archives

Office of the Secretary of State

Sacramento, California
Processed by:
Rebecca Crowther and Kaitlyn Crain
Date Completed:
March 2007; Revised June 2014
Encoded by:
Sara Kuzak
© 2014 California Secretary of State. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Inventory of the California State Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee Records
Dates: 1980-2010
Collection number: See series description for LP numbers.
Creator: Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee Assembly Consumer Protection and Toxic Materials Committee
Collection Size: 56.5 cubic feet
Repository: California State Archives
Sacramento, California
Abstract: The Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee Records consist of approximately 56.5 cubic feet of textual records and audio-visual materials. The records cover the years 1980-2010 and are comprised of Bill Files, Hearing Files, Subject Files, and Correspondence.
Physical location: California State Archives
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Administrative Information

Access

While the majority of the records are open for research, any access restrictions are noted in the record series descriptions.

Publication Rights

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.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], [Committee Name], LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

Acquisition and Custodial History

The State Archives received these records in accordance with California Government Code 9080(b) which requires legislative committees to transfer their records to the State Archives when they are no longer needed by the committee.

Committee History

The California State Assembly first considered bills relating to toxics and the environment during the 1979-1980 legislative session when the Assembly Toxic Substances subcommittee was created under the Assembly Labor, Employment, and Consumer Affairs Committee. By passage of House Resolution 15 on January 29, 1980, the Assembly Rules Committee 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 Material 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 was 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), John Laird (D, 2003-2004), Ira Ruskin (D, 2005-2006), Jared Huffman (D, 2007-2008), Wesley Chesbro (D, 2009-2010), Bob Wieckowski (D, 2011-2012), and Luis A. Alejo (D, 2013-2014).

Scope and Content

The Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee Records consist of approximately 56.5 cubic feet of textual records and audio-visual materials. The records cover the years 1980-2010 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 Assembly. Researchers should inquire with the reference archivist about recently received, unprocessed records of the committee.
The records created by the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee will be of great interest to researchers looking at environmental regulation from the 1980s through the 2000s. With environmental disasters 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 1980-2010. Committee hearing files span from 1980-2006 and comprise approximately six cubic feet of the collection. Furthermore, there are approximately two cubic feet of subject files from the years 1993-2005 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. They 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.

Indexing Terms

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

See below for LP numbers

Series 1 Bill Files 1981-2010

Physical Description: 995 file folders and 1 VHS tape

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by legislative session, then numerically by bill number.

Access Information

Access to audiovisual materials requires the production of use copies.

Scope and Content Note

Most bill files include all or some of the following items: bill analyses, amendments and resolutions, author's statements, testimony, press releases, newspaper clippings, correspondence, roll calls, records of votes, and committee statements. Tapes have been separated to a cold-storage vault for preservation purposes and separation sheets are with the bill files to alert the researcher to the existence of such tapes.
The bill files generally concern bills relating to toxic materials regulation. Of particular interest are those bills related to toxic materials storage, transportation and cleanup, as well as protection against marine, air, and ground pollution. Note: bill files for the 1983-1984 session will be found in multiple locations.
Consumer Protection and Toxic Materials Committee, 1981-1984
1981-1982 AB26-AB3741; ACA7-ACA44; ACR107-ACR146;AJR2-AJR43 (31ff) LP244:61-91
1981-1982: SB95-SB1959 (6ff) LP244:92-97
1983-1984: AB10-AB3901; HR34 (25ff) LP378:1-25
1983-1984: AB17-AB3444 (11ff) LP244:97(b)-97(l)
1983-1984: AB3502-4947; AJR6 (12ff) LP291:1-12
1983-1984: SB956-SB2333; SCA58 (8ff) LP378:26-33
1983-1984: SB91-SB2319; SCR30; SCR64 (17ff) LP291:13-29
Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, 1985-2004
1985-1986: AB16-AB4398; ACR131; AJR38; HR5-HR285 (44ff) LP378:34-77
1985-1986: SB19-SB2610; SCA34; SCR14-SCR66; SJR5-SJR61 (21ff) LP378:78-98
1987-1988: AB31-AB4641; ACR31-ACR37; AJR14-AJR15 (22ff) LP378:99-120
1987-1988: SB38-SB2587; SCR41; SJR15 (11ff) LP378:121-131
1989-1990: AB12-AB4369; ACR34-ACR166; AJR58-AJR86; HR4 (45ff) LP378:132-176
1989-1990: SB14-SB2858 (15ff) LP378:177-191
1991-1992: AB41-AB3789; AJR4-AJR69; HR34 (38ff) LP378:192-229
1991-1992: SB14-SB2057 (16ff)LP378:230-245
1993-1994: AB131-AB3770; ACR23-ACR52; AJR68-AJR75 (25ff) LP378:246-270
1993-1994: SB27-SB1916; SB47X (14ff) LP378:271-284
1995-1996: AB42-AB3477; AJR10-AJR60; AB1XXX (53ff) LP378:285-337
1995-1996: SB130-SB1979; SCR49 (47ff) LP378:338-384
1997-1998: AB256-AB2698 (47ff) LP378:385-431
1997-1998: SB105-SB2240 (31ff) LP378:432-462
1999-2000: AB46-AB2886; HR8-HR27 (38ff) LP378:463-50o
1999-2000: SB25-SB2203; SJR8-SJR26 (31ff) LP378:501-526
2001-2002: AB13-AB3053; AJR22 (43ff) LP378:527-569
2001-2002: SB21-SB2096 (26ff)LP378:570-595
2003-2004: AB28-AB3041 (72ff) LP378:596-667
2003-2004: SB20-SB1909 (33ff) LP378:668-700
2005-2006: AB263-AB3001; AJR8 (64ff) LP378:914-977
2005-2006: SB153-SB1826 (29ff) P378:978-1006
2007-2008: AB19-AB3077 (59ff) LP378:1007-1065
2007-2008: SB220-SB1753 (18ff) LP378:1066-1083
2009-2010: AB21-AB2669; AJR24; HR10-HR23 (29ff) LP378:1084-1112
2009-2010: SB22- SB1477 (19ff) LP378:1113-1131
See Appendix A for LP numbers

Series 2 Hearing Files 1980-2006

Physical Description: 266 file folders, 45 audio tapes, 12 CDs, and 29 VHS tapes

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by date of hearing, with the exception of the files regarding the Oversight Hearing of the Willco Dump, which have been placed at the end of the series due their volume. A complete listing of these folders can be found in Appendix A in master finding aid at California State Archives.

Access Information

Access to audiovisual materials requires the production of use copies.

Scope and Content Note

Hearing files may contain agendas, audiotapes, transcripts, testimony, background, and working files for regular session hearings as well as interim hearings and select joint hearings. Tapes have been separated to a cold-storage vault for preservation purposes and separation sheets are with the hearing files to alert the researcher to the existence of such tapes. In this series, hearing files have been roughly divided into two types, either informational hearings that analyze specific topics related to toxics legislation, or bill hearings that cover a range of assembly bills heard on a specific day.
As mentioned, of particular interest are those files pertaining to the Oversight Hearing of the Willco Dump, which investigated the California Department of Transportation's involvement in toxic materials removal from the Willco Dump site near Lynwood, CA. 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.
Researchers may also be interested in files relating to the Governor's Reorganization Plan Number One of 1985, the Governor's Reorganization Plan Number Two of 1986, and files relating to the administration of the State Superfund program.
For a list of hearing dates and topics, see Appendix A in in Additional Series Information.

Additional Series Information

LP378:871-909, LP378:1205-1224

Series 3 Subject Files 1983-2005

Physical Description: 40 file folders, 18 VHS tapes, and 3 CDs

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject heading.

Access Information

Access to audiovisual materials requires the production of use copies.

Scope and Content Note

Subject files include correspondence, background materials, notes, memoranda, reports, newspaper clippings, and subcommittee information and pertain to such topics as the toxicity of materials including asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls, plastic pipes, and waste tires. Also within this series are hearing agendas that outline committee plans in regards to particular hearings.
For a list of Subject Files, see Appendix B in in Additional Series Information.

Additional Series Information

LP378:910-912

Series 4 Correspondence 1999-2001

Physical Description: 3 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by date of correspondence.

Scope and Content Note

The correspondence files are primarily related to committee and bill issues, and may include letters from committee members, constituents, legislative analysts, lobbyists, and department heads.