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Public Health and Environmental Enforcement Law
Sample Letter
The Honorable (First and Last Name)
State Capitol, Room # _______
Sacramento, CA 95814
(Today's Date), 2005
Dear Assemblymember __________,
I urge you to support Assembly Bill 528, authored by Assemblymember Dario Frommer, which is an important step toward filling a major gap in California’s environmental and public health protections. This bill will provide ordinary Californians the right to personal enforcement of key environmental laws.
The Public Health and Environmental Enforcement Law works in the following way:
- Personal enforcement actions can be brought against either public agencies or private companies or individuals who are alleged to be violating one of the public health or environmental laws specified in the law.
- The focus is on stopping lawbreakers who would otherwise escape accountability for violating public health and environmental protections because of inadequate public enforcement.
- Unless specified by law, all civil penalties awarded shall be deposited in a special fund for public health and environmental enforcement. The bill is not a get-rich ticket for lawyers or plaintiffs.
- AB 528 is carefully structured so that personal enforcement is a last resort, available only after the public agencies have completely failed to do their job.
- Procedural safeguards involving mandatory review of complaints by the Attorney General ensure lawsuits are legitimate to protect communities.
Waiting for public enforcement or until an injury occurs is not a viable option when many environmental violations cause long-term risks to public health, especially when the tangible losses may not be apparent for years. Please be a leader on this issue by actively supporting AB 528 in committee and on the floor.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Your Registered Voting Address
City, State, ZIP
Phone
