Senate Safety Committee approved SB 409 bill that would increase the fines for illegal dumping, viol

iHeart contributes to SB 409 committee approval

The Public Safety Committee conducted a hearing on SB 409 on Tuesday, April 2. Truckers are naturally against it. The ACLU is against it but might have been wooed to reconsider since it is also environmentally active and involved. If the votes were not there, the bill will have been pulled for future consideration. Wilk said on Friday, “I have to do a vote assessment to know if I have the votes. If not, I will pull the bill.”

In a late-night e-mail from Ms. Patsy Ayala, Field Representative for Senator Scott Wilk, iHeart learned the State of California Senate Safety Committee approved SB 409 to go to full committee and further Tuesday, April 2, 2019. Ms. Ayala said, “Hello wonderful ladies, I just want to let you know SB 409 passed the committee today.”

Senator Wilk met with iHeart Lake L A on Friday, March 29. Meeting with the Senator was Lyn Bateman, Gloria Ocegueda, State Senator Scott Wilk, Shirley Harriman and Jackie Livingstone plus Erika Schwerdt via conference call. The meeting was arranged by Gloria Ocegueda to discuss SB 409 which was authored by the Senator and co-authored by Assemblyman Tom Lackey regarding Illegal dumping to-wit:

Existing law makes it unlawful to dump waste matter in certain locations, such as upon a public or private highway or road, upon private property without the consent of the owner, or in or upon a public park or other public property, as specified. Existing law also makes it unlawful to place, deposit, or dump rocks, concrete, asphalt, or dirt in certain locations, as specified. A person who violates these provisions is guilty of an infraction punishable by specified fines.

Existing law also makes it a misdemeanor to place, deposit, or dump waste matter in commercial quantities, as defined, in certain locations.

This bill would make it a crime to transport waste matter, rocks, concrete, asphalt, or dirt for the purpose of dumping it in the locations described above. The bill would make it a crime to dump or deposit waste matter, rocks, concrete, asphalt, or dirt on private property with the consent of the owner or an agent of the owner if a permit or license was required by a state or local agency and was not obtained. The bill would make it a crime for a property owner or agent to receive waste matter, rocks, concrete, asphalt, or dirt if a permit or license is required from a state or a local agency and was not obtained prior to receiving the waste matter, rocks, concrete, asphalt, or dirt. The bill would increase the fines for violating these provisions and would make these violations misdemeanors. The bill would also make it unlawful to transport waste matter in commercial quantities for the purpose of dumping it in the locations described above. Because this bill would expand the scope of a crime and increase the punishment of a crime from an infraction to a misdemeanor, it would impose a state-mandated local program.

Schwerdt remarked that iHeart Lake L A knows the importance of this legislation and of the seriousness of illegal dumping saying, “We want to legally educate people about the dangers of illegal dumping, how waste in our back yards is wrong, with pamphlets and other methods and include illegal burning. Your bill works hand in hand with our work.”

A large selection of file pictures and articles were sent to Ms. Ayala to prepare a visual deck of support for the bill which no doubt had a serious impact on how the proceedings went. Ms. Ayala closed saying, “Thank you for the material you sent us. I’ll keep you posted on the following steps.”

IHeart Lake LA has the weight of Senator Wilk’s office, but in this case, iHeart Lake L A contributed the weight of its presence to help push the bill through committee.

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