BILL ANALYSIS Ó ACR 28 Page 1 Date of Hearing: March 14, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON RULES Nancy Skinner, Chair ACR 28 (Chesbro and John A. Perez) - As Introduced: February 24, 2011 SUBJECT : Earth Hour. SUMMARY : Endorses efforts to raise awareness of global climate change and energy efficiency; declares the hour of 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on the last Saturday in March to be "Earth Hour" throughout the state; and, encourages city, county, and state employees, and businesses to turn off nonessential lights in government buildings, public schools, public landmarks, and other buildings for that hour on March 26, 2011. Specifically, this resolution makes the following legislative findings: 1)Earth Hour is both an international and local symbolic event organized by the World Wildlife Fund to raise awareness about climate change issues; and, the event was established to encourage individuals, businesses, and governments to take actions that reduce carbon emissions and the impact on the environment in their daily lives and operations. 2)The state has long been a national and international leader on energy conservation and environmental stewardship efforts, including the areas of air quality protections, energy efficiency requirements, renewable energy standards, natural resource conservation, and greenhouse gas emission standards. 3)There is growing public support for action to stop global warming, and turning off all nonessential lights in government buildings and public landmarks will serve as an important rallying point for the worldwide energy conservation event, Earth Hour. FISCAL EFFECT : None REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support None on file. ACR 28 Page 2 Opposition None on file. Analysis Prepared by : Anna McCabe / RLS. / (916) 319-2800