CalWatchdog Morning Read – September 9

• Law curbing labor abuses abroad not working well
• How the state plans to reduce GHG emission levels by another 40 percent
• How the state defines disadvantaged communities
• Senate candidate goes on the attack
• San Diego congressman wants free tobacco for the military 
• Plus a bonus long read!

Good morning. TGIF. On the day after Gov. Jerry Brown signed ambitious climate change legislation, we’re reminded that laws don’t always work as planned.  

A statute passed by California lawmakers in 2010 to stem labor abuses abroad has been of meager help in policing tech giant Apple, a group that studies labor abuses in China claims.

The California Transparency in Supply Chains Act, heralded by political leaders as a measure to police poor working conditions in companies doing business in California “has little influence on the labor conditions of these suppliers” in China, Li Qiang, executive director of China Labor Watch, said in a statement to CalWatchdog. “As such, labor rights violations are still prevalent in these factories.”

A study released in late August from China Labor Watch reported that at the Shanghai, China, facility of Apple supplier Pegatron, “working conditions are terrible, and workers are subject to terrible treatment. Currently, Apple’s profits are declining … to mitigate the impact, Pegatron has taken some covert measures to exploit workers.”

CalWatchdog has more.

In other news:

• More about what that climate change legislation calls for and how it’ll work, from the Los Angeles Times. 
• And even more on climate change legislation: How California defines disadvantaged communities when deciding where to send funding for local environmental programs. The Sacramento Bee has more. 
• “Orange County Rep. Loretta Sanchez on Thursday condemned the burial of millions of pounds of nuclear waste on a San Onofre beach bluff and faulted her opponent in the race for the U.S. Senate for not fighting the controversial project,” writes The Orange County Register.
• “Rep. Duncan Hunter says he doesn’t want a new federal policy to stop companies from donating tobacco products — specifically cigars — to members of the military,” reports The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Bonus:

• Looking for a long weekend read? Molly Ball in The Atlantic on how the world of political consultants works… or doesn’t work. 

Legislature:

• Gone ’til December.

Gov. Brown:

• No public events announced.

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