When California laws go too far, the courts intervene

Early explorers believed California to be an island and while its physical attachment to the rest of North America eventually became evident, it nevertheless has sought to forge an island-like cultural and political identity — a “nation-state” in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s description.

There are, however, limits. Legally, California is still just one of 50 states and thus is subject to federal law, including the U.S. Constitution.

California politicians sometimes ignore that basic fact of civic life in their zeal to lead the parade. But when they cross the legal line, as defined in federal law, they get their comeuppance.

Letters to the Editor

This one’s for you, Daddy EDITOR:

Ican’t believe there is a whole class (did I say class?) of men devoted to the elimination of abortion, even birth control, who have nothing to do with the medical profession.

Summary

For instance, the federal appeals court that oversees California recently overturned an ordinance passed by city leaders in Berkeley, one of the state’s more adventuresome jurisdictions, to ban natural gas service in newly constructed buildings.

I can’t believe these sheep in suits are discussing women’s bodies unselfconsciously in public when they can spare time from insider trading. I suppose they have been involved somehow in a conception, theirs or someone else’s — involved but not involved. They don’t impress me as lovers of children particularly.

of flooding in these homes and neighborhoods devastated this year. Mr. Barry has said they have done some planning regarding flooding of the pond, but TTLC has not presented any plans or information to the community to address our serious flooding concerns. They will need to prove that to the families whose lives were disrupted by flooding this winter.

Roads near the proposed development in Cameron Park. including Cameron Park Drive and Meder Road, already experience lots of gridlock, tra c accidents and congestion. The construction of 161 houses nearby will only exacerbate this problem. I would like to see TTLC explain to the community how it plans to deal with this issue.

U.S.

The 2020 ordinance, cheered by environmentalists as a gesture to reduce greenhouse gases, was challenged by the California Restaurant Association for violating federal authority to set energy e ciency standards.

A federal trial judge upheld the ordinance but the 9th District Court of Appeals declared that federal law did, indeed, preempt the issue so Berkeley could not strike it out on its own.

California’s governors and legislators are also prone to enacting new laws that run afoul of the U.S. Constitution, federal law or, in some cases, the state’s own constitution.

Chris Micheli, a lobbyist who is also a student of legislative procedure and teaches at the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law, has assembled a lengthy list of legislative decrees that later fared poorly in the courts.

They include such recent laws as those mandating female and members of “unrepresented communities” on corporate boards and prohibiting doctors from making politically incorrect statements about COVID-19.

One entire class of California laws, those imposing sometimes unique restrictions on private gun ownership, has fallen prey to constitutional challenges in recent months thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court’s expansive

■ See WALTERS, page A5

And, by the way, I wish the schools would publish the supposedly o ensive material they are using in biology class so we could all be horrified. Also, the great literature that made me, me — that must now be squelched.

My father was a trial lawyer (negligence) in the New York Supreme Court. The judges were appointed and he had a lot of trouble with their integrity. Once he invited the judge he was appearing before to step out into the alley with him. My mother said Daddy tried cases with his hands in his suit pockets, his hands in fists. He lived to take care of her and us children. I am glad he is dead. He would have been out of his element now. My father was a man.

ELIZABETH CAFFREY Placerville

Developer falling short on information

EDITOR:

Thank you for your thoughtful and wellbalanced article about the proposed development in the area near and around Rasmussen Pond and the Pine Hill Preserve in Cameron Park.

As a Cameron Park resident, the proposed development has left me and members of our community with some major concerns. The developer, TTLC and Aidan Barry have left a lot of unanswered questions they need to address.

This winter many houses and neighborhoods in Cameron Park experienced significant damage from flooding that originated from overflows in the drainage system in and near the vicinity of the Rasmussen Pond area. The construction of 161 houses is likely to massively increase the likelihood

The Pine Hill Preserve adjacent to Rasmussen Pond is home to rare and endangered plant species. Community members have long used the Rasmussen Pond area for recreation and have documented — producing photographic evidence — that these species also live on the parcel TTLC is planning on developing. TTLC has not addressed these specific concerns raised by the community nor have they conclusively proven development will not destroy this precious habitat or kill protected plant species. TTLC owes it to the community to explain how it plans to protect our precious wildlife and recreation areas.

El Dorado County desperately needs more a ordable housing, but the houses TTLC plans to build won’t provide us with that. Instead, more of our county’s natural treasures and rural character will be destroyed by Bay Area developers. This new development promises to bring in more Bay Area refugees and contribute to the housing a ordability crisis and continued displacement of low- and middle-income families who call Cameron Park home.

The burden of proof is on TTLC to show the community that their development will not create more flooding, contribute to our housing crises, lead to tra c disasters or destroy our precious wildlife. Nothing that Mr. Barry or TTLC has presented in the Mountain Democrat article has proven any of these points.

There is plenty of land in Folsom for Bay Area and LA developers to build more generic, beige subdivisions of una ordable houses. Cameron Park is a special place to live and we must do everything we can to keep it that way.

Message from EID Customer investment makes EID’s system resilient, secure

As we head through spring toward summer, El Dorado Irrigation District’s water situation has strengthened as we have experienced record-breaking snowfall in the Sierra Nevada. The Sierra snowpack is our largest “reservoir” and this year’s snowpack is impressive. So much so that Gov. Newsom ended some water restrictions in late March. At its April 24 meeting the EID Board of Directors approved ending the district’s Stage 1 Water Alert, which had previously requested 15% voluntary conservation from customers.

I would like to thank our customers and community for their positive e orts and the overall excellent response to the call for voluntary reduction in water use during the water alert.

In previous columns I have focused some attention on large capital improvement program projects like the replacement of the Silver Lake Dam and the need to keep up with recoating or rehabilitating some three dozen drinking water tanks throughout the district’s service area.

For this column I would like to turn to flume replacement. Flumes, aboveground water conveyances, are a part of EID’s 22-mile-long canal and flume system. Approximately onethird of EID’s water supply flows through them. Each year we invest several million dollars to strengthen and make more resilient these vital arteries.

The Caldor Fire showed how vulnerable wood-constructed flumes can be — a common building material employed across California’s gold country for over a century and still in use today. Four flumes were destroyed during that intense fire in 2021 and, as a result, the district has redoubled its e orts to replace this important infrastructure with more resilient concrete flumes.

EID implements a robust CIP that includes various projects and initiatives aimed at upgrading and maintaining infrastructure, increasing operational e ciency and meeting regulatory requirements. The CIP is a long-term plan that outlines projects and initiatives over a five-year period, with annual updates and revisions to ensure the district’s needs are met.

One such project on our horizon is the replacement of 3,339 feet of EID’s Flume 46. This wooden flume is located in hard-to-access terrain east of Placerville perched above Highway 50. In terrain like this, with few access roads, helicopters are the only means of bringing in materials so we are looking for more economic alternatives. But even those are expensive. Flume 46 is anticipated to cost $30 million.

While the CIP is an essential component in ensuring reliable service, it requires significant funding to implement. EID funds its CIP through a combination of sources, including grants, loans and rates. Rates are necessary to provide su cient revenue to fund capital projects, operations and maintenance costs. Rates are based on the actual cost of providing service and EID’s board approves them after a thorough review of the district’s finances and operational needs.

As many across our service area know, inflation has had a significant impact on a wide variety of materials and services and has begun to impact our ability to pay for needed projects without adjusting rates.

■ See ABERCROMBIE, page A5

EID, like other public utilities, funds most of its operations through direct rates or charges for services provided. The rate, or fee, is established by the agency and, under state law, must be reasonable and directly reflect the cost of providing that service. With costs rising, we must again have a close look at how current rates must change to reflect our ongoing service needs. In light of that, the district has initiated a cost of service study to evaluate its rates.

The study, which is led by outside experts with direction from EID directors and staff, will help us refine proposed rate adjustments that will be outlined in the Proposition 218 process later this year. We will continue to provide information to our customers about why these rate changes are needed and where we will invest the funds. In the Proposition 218 notice, which will be mailed to all customers, we will also detail how each customer rate class will be affected.

The district and its employees know the impact of rate adjustments; the vast majority of us live and work in the communities we serve. We also see, every day, the need to repair and replace the facilities we all rely on around the clock.

We are committed to using our customers’ investments carefully and transparently. The facilities that bring water from high in the Sierra, as well as the pipelines that connect our vast infrastructure and the plants and other facilities that allow us to deliver safe and reliable service, will benefit from our customers’ investment.

Using an average asset life of about 50 years, EID needs to plan to replace/rebuild approximately 2% of its assets annually. Oftentimes sewer line and emergency water pipe repairs must take priority when they occur. However, with careful planning and vigilance in preparing a reasonable and efficient capital improvement program, the district can ensure the community’s water, sewer and recycled water system are in safe working order.

When we invest in the (mostly) unseen infrastructure that provides safe and reliable drinking water, collects and treats wastewater from homes and businesses and treats and distributes recycled water, the district is helping to strengthen this community infrastructure to last for our grandchildren’s grandchildren and beyond.

What can we do to pay for these needed projects?

Utilities like EID can increase rates sufficiently to pay cash up-front for projects as they are needed and we do this to a degree already but, as you can imagine, rates would go up exponentially if EID chose to pay for everything this way. Instead we obtain bonds (loans) similar to how a home mortgage is secured and carefully and methodically pay off the costs over time.

It is not equitable for current ratepayers to bear the full cost of facilities and infrastructure that will benefit multiple generations. Using bonds allows future customers to pay their portion, along with accumulated interest, once they connect to the system.

Some customers may ask if we can delay construction projects. While it would lower the debt burden, it would also lower the service reliability — something no one wants. We know many years of delayed reinvestment in the system can (and has) affected the community negatively in terms of unreliable service and decaying infrastructure.

No one wants to find our community facing public health and safety challenges like inadequate fire protection and drinking water quality or unreliable service. My commitment and conviction is to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Public safety — safe and reliable drinking water and protecting public health and the environment through effective wastewater collection and treatment — is EID’s top concern at all times and we simply cannot compromise.

Jim Abercrombie is EID’s general manager.

Walters Continued from A4 interpretations of the constitutional right to bear arms.

While gun organizations have been challenging California’s array of gun control laws for years, the Supreme Court’s landmark Bruen decision last year, invalidating New York’s almost total ban on the carrying of personal weapons, opened the door. One by one, California’s laws are being invalidated.

Just last month, for instance, a federal judge in Southern California overturned the state’s law prohibiting the sale of handguns that don’t meet stringent — and technically unworkable — safety requirements, declaring that it runs afoul of the Bruen decision.

Even before the Bruen decision, a San Diego federal judge, Roger Benitez, had tossed out California’s ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds, the state’s ban on assault rifles and a law requiring background checks for ammunition purchases.

Another law that fell recently was one dreamed up by Newsom and the Legislature as a symbolic stunt — authorizing lawsuits against some gun manufacturers with conditions that made defense almost impossible. It was patterned after a Texas law making it easier to sue those who performed abortions and Attorney General Rob Bonta didn’t even try to defend it when the inevitable lawsuit challenged it.

Undeterred by the serial invalidation of California gun laws, Newsom and legislators are working on another measure that, they say, would fit within the constraints of the Bruen decision. Senate Bill 2 would create new standards for the issuance of concealed weapons permits and list a number of new places where carrying weapons would be prohibited, even by those having permits.

Whatever emerges from this year’s session would face new legal challenges, and given the state’s recent record, would also likely be shot down in court.

Dan Walters is a journalist and author who writes for CALmatters.org, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

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