SACRAMENTO That giant sucking sound emanating from the Capitol is the political vacuum created by the abrupt departure of state Senator Michael Rubio, D-Bakersfield, the Legislature’s primary champion of efforts to rewrite the California Environmental Quality Act.
In a move that truly seemed to shock capital politicos, Rubio, citing the need to spend more time with family, announced on Feb. 22 that he was resigning immediately to take a governmental affairs job with Chevron Corp. That was the same day Rubio and President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, were supposed to unveil their proposed CEQA legislation, crafted after months of talks with environmentalists, business interests and plenty of lawyers.
