BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION
Senator Isadore Hall, III
Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1138 Hearing Date: 4/12/2016
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|Author: |Hueso |
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|Version: |2/18/2016 Introduced |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant:|Felipe Lopez |
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SUBJECT: Space Day
DIGEST: This bill requires the Governor to proclaim an
undetermined date in each year to be Space Day and requires the
legislative body of each city, county, or city and county to, by
ordinance, require every resident, business, and public entity
to dim or turn off their lights between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. on
the date designated as Space Day.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires the Governor to Proclaim the following days each year
as follows:
a) September 28 as "Cabrillo Day."
b) January 15 as "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day."
c) March 7 as "Arbor Day."
d) February 19 as "A Day of Remembrance: Japanese American
Evacuation."
e) Fourth Friday in September as "Native American Day."
f) First Sunday in October as "Stepparents Day."
g) April 21 as "John Muir Day."
h) March 30 as "Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day."
i) December 7 as "Pearl Harbor Day."
j) March 31 as "Cesar Chavez Day."
aa) Month of February as "Black History Month."
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bb) Third Saturday in June as "Juneteenth National Freedom
Day: A Day of Observance."
cc) April 24 as "California Day of Remembrance of the
Armenian Genocide."
dd) May 22 as "Harvey Milk Day."
ee) January 30 as "Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and
the Constitution."
ff) February 6 as "Ronald Reagan Day."
gg) January 23 as "Ed Roberts Day."
hh) October 25 as "Larry Itliong Day."
This bill:
1)Requires the Governor to proclaim an undetermined date in each
year to be Space Day and designate that date as having special
significance in public schools and educational institutions.
2)Requires the Governor to encourage public schools and
educational institutions to conduct suitable commemorative
exercises on that date.
3)Specifies Space Day to promote space observation and
appreciation, promote California's aerospace industry, and
encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics.
4)Requires the legislative body of each city, county, or city
and county to, by ordinance, require every resident, business,
and public entity to dim or turn off their lights between 9
p.m. and 10 p.m. on the date designated as Space Day.
Background
Purpose of the bill. According to the author, "today in urban
regions of California light pollution, a term which is used to
describe the adverse effects of artificial light, has greatly
inhibited observation of the night sky. Researchers have noted
that increased urban sky glow is responsible for making the
Milky Way nearly impossible to view for many of California's
urban regions. Unfortunately, many Californian's must now
travel far from their home, away from the glow of artificial
light sources, to view the majestic night sky."
Light Pollution. Light pollution is a term that refers to the
brightening of the night sky caused by streetlights and other
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man-mad sources, which inhibits the observation of stars and
planets and has been argued to have a disruptive effect on
natural cycles.
Light pollution is a side effect of industrial civilization.
Its sources include building exterior and interior lighting,
advertising, commercial properties, offices, factories,
streetlights, and illuminated sporting venues. The biggest
contributor to light pollution includes roadway lightings,
especially in major cities and highways. Most experts state
that light emitted from roadways, is approximated to constitute
about 35% to 50% of all light pollution.
Unintended Consequences. The bill currently requires that the
legislative body of each city, county, or city and county shall,
by ordinance, require every resident, business, and public
entity to dim or turn off their lights between 9 p.m. and 10
p.m. on the date designated as Space Day. While the intention
is to reduce light pollution and make the night sky more
visible, such a requirement raises various issues.
The bill's current requirement is unclear as to which lights
should be dimmed or turned off. A strict reading of the bill
would mean that all lights, including street lights, car lights,
hospital lights, etc, would be required to be turned off. This
would mean that all businesses, including restaurants, gas
stations, bars, etc., that do not have dimming lights would be
forced to either turn off their lights, or more realistically
close their business during this time period. Sporting events
would be affected since the requirement to turn off their lights
would make playing any sporting event practically impossible.
In addition, it is unclear what the enforcement of such an
ordinance would entail.
Suggested Amendments. As previously stated, the current
requirement to turn off the lights would have a plethora of
unintended consequences. Therefore, the author may wish to
delete the current requirement and instead specify that the
Governor shall encourage residents, businesses, and public
entities to dim or turn off their lights between 9 p.m. and 10
p.m. on the date designated as Space Day.
The bill currently does not specify what date the Governor shall
proclaim as Space Day. However, National Space Day as well as
International Space Day is observed on the first Friday in May.
Therefore, the author may wish to amend the bill to specify that
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the Governor shall proclaim the first Friday in May as Space
Day.
Author's Amendments. The author will be presenting amendments
in committee to exempt from the light reduction requirements
public safety providers and first responders which include, city
or county law enforcement agencies, jails, fire departments,
hospitals, clinics, mental health hospitals, or any other entity
that is deemed to provide necessary public services.
In addition, the author will be presenting amendments in
committee to exempt from the light reduction requirements
agencies necessary for critical community services which shall
include airports, bridges, port authorities, public spaces where
large numbers of citizens congregate or any other entity that is
deemed to provide necessary community services.
It is unclear what would be defined as entities that are deemed
to provide necessary community services and what are public
spaces where large numbers of citizens congregate. However, it
should be noted that if enough entities are exempted, light
pollution would remain an issue and thus eliminate the intended
goal of the bill.
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 2598 (Ting, 2016) requires the Governor to annually proclaim
the date corresponding with the start of the lunar calendar as
Lunar New Year's Day. (Pending in Assembly Education Committee)
AB 7 (Bonta, Chapter 29, Statutes of 2015) required the Governor
to annually proclaim October 25 as Larry Itliong Day.
AB 1775 (Furutani, Chapter 241, Statutes of 2010) required the
Governor to annually proclaim January 30 as Fred Korematsu Day
of Civil Liberties and the Constitution.
SB 944 (Runner, Chapter 114, Statutes of 2010) required the
Governor to annually proclaim February 6 as Ronald Reagan Day.
SB 1256 (Hancock, Chapter 115, 2010) required the Governor to
annually proclaim January 23 as Ed Roberts Day.
SB 572 (Leno, Chapter 626, Statutes of 2009) required the
Governor to annually proclaim May 22 as Harvey Milk Day.
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AB 717 (Cook, Chapter 158, Statutes of 2009) required the
governor to annually proclaim March 30 as Welcome Home Vietnam
Veterans Day.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.: Yes Local: Yes
SUPPORT:
San Diego Air & Space Museum (Sponsor)
International Dark-Sky Association
OPPOSITION:
CalAsian Chamber of Commerce
California Attractions and Parks Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Grocers Association
California Hotel & Lodging Association
California Manufacturers & Technology Association
California Restaurant Association
California Retailers Association
National Federation of Independent Business
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the San Diego Air & Space
Museum, "space day is designed to promote space observations and
appreciation among California's citizens, promote California's
global aerospace industry, and to encourage students to pursue
careers in science, technology, engineering and math."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSSITION: Opponents of the bill argue that,
"the impacts that SB 1138 would have on private business and the
public health and safety system will be substantial as it will
not just disrupt operations for that single hour blackout period
but, depending on the operation, several hours before and after
companies have to shut down then restart their processes. This
would pose a logistical challenge as many businesses would not
have a choice but to make a calculated decision that could
result in prematurely terminating afternoon and/or evening
shifts or eliminating hours. For example, restaurants would
likely close the entire evening therefore not scheduling
employees to work, which would result in personnel not working
their anticipated hours during that pay period."
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Opponents also argue that, "dimming or eliminating lighting in a
workplace or business is not always safe or feasible. It is not
practical and almost always unsafe to have employees working in
dimmed conditions when operating machinery, cooking or preparing
food, or using industrial equipment. It could also put
employees and/or consumers in an unwanted health or public
safety situation, which could potentially expose the business to
costly litigation. The unintended consequence of this
requirement would be to deny certain businesses the ability to
operate safely and efficiently, not just during the timeframe
called for in this bill but for the additional preparation time
on both ends of this lighting ban/restriction."
DUAL REFERRAL: Senate Governance and Finance Committee