In the wake of the Exide Battery Plant disaster, Cristina Garcia took on Sacramento’s systemic apathy towards the victims of Exide and proposed AB 2153, also known as the Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Act of 2016. Under the new law, $1 of a fee already imposed on car batteries will be reallocated to fund the cleanup of lead contamination caused by lead-acid batteries in the state of California.
This bill represents a rare example of bilateral cooperation between both environmental justice advocates and the battery manufacturing industry and has been commended as fiscally and environmentally responsible. Governor Jerry Brown signed AB 2153 into law on September 27th, 2016, finally bringing real relief to the families impacted by Exide. This historic legislation is expected to bring in $30 million annually in aid devoted to cleansing pollution from communities around California without raising taxes for our citizens.
Because AB 2153 was signed, we will be able to clean up Exide and 14 other sites contaminated by lead throughout California.
Furthermore, Assemblymember Garcia’s commitment to preserving the environment has not gone unnoticed, as she is regularly rated highly by environment groups. Her willingness to battle energy companies has earned her climate-friendliness ratings of 100%, 83% and 90% by the Sierra Club California, the California Environmental Justice Alliance, and the California League of Conservation Voters respectively.