Senator Padilla Issues Statement Regarding SB 1208 Being Held on Assembly Floor

SACRAMENTO –Senator Steve Padilla (D-San Diego) released the following statement following his bill, Senate Bill 1208, being held on the Assembly Floor:

“Late Saturday night, at the very last minute, the residents of South Bay and the border communities got dumped on yet again. My bill, SB 1208, would have required an extra layer of scrutiny before yet another dump could be sited in South Bay, this time in the Tijuana River Watershed. 

For more than a century, the people of Southern San Diego have been treated as the dumping ground for numerous land uses and projects harmful to their health, environment, and quality of life. As a result, the Tijuana River Watershed is one of the most distressed and polluted in North America and any new impacts to the watershed and the regional water and air quality should be unacceptable to everyone in our community.

The conversations around SB 1208 were cynically twisted into a diversion about disagreements between the Assembly and the Senate and at the last minute, petty politics got in the way of doing what is right and the bill was never allowed to have a final vote. Sadly, it was about everything but protecting people’s health and well being. I am beyond disappointed. 

We won’t stop fighting to protect the watershed and the health of the communities in the border region, and we will never stop fighting to prevent yet more environmental injustices.”

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Steve Padilla represents the 18th Senate District, which includes the communities of Chula Vista, the Coachella Valley, Imperial Beach, the Imperial Valley, National City, and San Diego. Prior to his election to the Senate in 2022, Senator Padilla was the first person of color ever elected to city office in Chula Vista, the first Latino Mayor, and the first openly LGBT person to serve or be elected to city office. Website of Senator Steve Padilla: https://sd18.senate.ca.gov/