Assembly Joint Resolution No. 4–Committee on Natural
Resources, Agriculture, and Mining
ASSEMBLY Joint RESOLUTION—Commending the State of California and the California Tahoe Conservancy for their efforts to secure money for and establish a coordinated team at the state level to carry out the Environmental Improvement Program in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
Whereas, In April 1998, the Governing Board of the Tahoe Regional
Planning Agency adopted the Environmental Improvement Program, a
document which outlines the actions that need to be taken within the 10
years immediately succeeding its adoption to save the declining clarity of
Lake Tahoe and protect other valuable resources in the Lake Tahoe Basin;
and
Whereas, The total estimated cost of the Environmental Improvement
Program is $908 million, which is apportioned among the Federal
Government, the State of California, the State of Nevada, local
governments and the private sector; and
Whereas, The contribution for the cost of the Environmental
Improvement Program to be paid by the State of California is
approximately $275 million; and
Whereas, For the fiscal years 1998, 1999 and 2000, the Governor of
the State of California proposed and the California Legislature approved
budgets committing approximately $20 million per year to the California
Tahoe Conservancy for carrying out the Environmental Improvement
Program and, in 1999, Governor Gray Davis pledged the intention of the
State of California to contribute the remainder of its share of the cost of
the Environmental Improvement Program in succeeding years; and
Whereas, In March 2000, the voters of the State of California
approved Ballot Proposition 12, entitled “Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean
Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2000,” which
included an allocation of $50 million to the California Tahoe Conservancy
to enable the Conservancy to carry out certain responsibilities of the State
of California relating to the Environmental Improvement Program; and
Whereas, In August 2000, Maria Contreras-Sweet, Secretary of the
Business, Transportation and Housing Agency of the State of California,
announced a commitment of approximately $53 million by the California
Department of Transportation to the Environmental Improvement
Program; and
Whereas, Also in August 2000, it was estimated that the State of
California, through the programs of the California Tahoe Conservancy, the
California Department of Transportation and the California Department of
Parks and Recreation, had fulfilled approximately 57 percent of its total
apportioned contribution of $275 million to the Environmental
Improvement Program; and
Whereas, In addition to matters concerning the financial support of the
Environmental Improvement Program, the State of California, through the
leadership of Mary D. Nichols, Secretary for Resources of the California
Resources Agency, Winston H. Hickox, Secretary of the California
Environmental Protection Agency, and Maria Contreras-Sweet, Secretary
of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency of the State of
California, has established the California Lake Tahoe Interagency Council,
a cabinet-level body that is charged with updating the Environmental
Improvement Program and coordinating the efforts of the State of
California to carry out the Environmental Improvement Program; and
Whereas, Following the adoption of the Environmental Improvement
Program, the California Tahoe Conservancy, under the leadership of its
Executive Officer, has worked diligently to support the efforts of officials
of the State of California to fulfill the apportioned contribution of the State
of California to the Environmental Improvement Program and has assisted
in efforts to coordinate the carrying out of the program within the Lake
Tahoe Basin; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of Nevada,
Jointly, That the members of the Nevada Legislature do hereby
commend the residents of the State of California, the California
Legislature, Gray Davis, Governor of the State of California, Mary D.
Nichols, Secretary for Resources of the California Resources Agency,
Winston H. Hickox, Secretary of the California Environmental Protection
Agency, and Maria Contreras-Sweet, Secretary of the Business,
Transportation and Housing Agency of the State of California, for their
efforts to assist the State of California in fulfilling its financial
commitment to the Environmental Improvement Program and for their
efforts to coordinate at a state level the carrying out of the program
through the establishment of the California Lake Tahoe Interagency
Council; and be it further
Resolved, That the members of the Nevada Legislature do hereby
commend the California Tahoe Conservancy for its efforts since its
establishment in 1984 to preserve, restore and enhance the natural
environment of the Lake Tahoe Basin and especially for its recent
activities to support the efforts of officials of the State of California to
fulfill the apportioned contribution of the State of California to the
Environmental Improvement Program and to assist in efforts to coordinate
the carrying out of the Program within the Lake Tahoe Basin; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly prepare and transmit
a copy of this resolution to Gray Davis, Governor of the State of
California, John Burton, President Pro Tempore of the Senate of the State
of California, Robert M. Hertzberg, Speaker of the Assembly of the State
of California, Mary D. Nichols, Secretary for Resources of the California
Resources Agency, Winston H. Hickox, Secretary of the California
Environmental Protection Agency, Maria Contreras-Sweet, Secretary of
the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency of the State of
California, and Dennis T. Machida, Executive Officer of the California
Tahoe Conservancy; and be it further
Resolved, That this resolution becomes effective upon passage.
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