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Pollard column: Parra standing up on 2 tough state issues
| Wednesday, Apr 25 2007 10:25 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Apr 25 2007 11:03 PM
SACRAMENTO -- For a lawmaker who tends to avoid controversy, Assemblywoman Nicole Parra is taking gutsy stands on a couple of tough issues.
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She has put herself on one political hot seat by supporting a bill that would ban construction of two mega-dairies next to the Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park just north of Delano.
The move has upset two of Parra's staunchest local political allies up to this point, the dairy industry and local government officials in the valley, who see the bill as a "confiscation of the local land-use planning process," in the words of Tulare County Supervisor Connie Conway.
Parra says she supports dairies, but she's bound by conscience to try to protect the park built around a historic settlement that is an icon to many in California's black community.
"There could have been some sensitivity to the people of Allensworth," she said during a committee hearing on the bill last week. That was a reference to the little community of Allensworth there.
The other one could be even more hazardous to her politically.
Parra has introduced legislation sought by the U. S. and California Chamber of Commerce organizations to make it harder to file class-action lawsuits against big corporations for damage done by their products.
It was unveiled Wednesday at a press conference where the U.S. Chamber released a study it said shows California allows more "frivolous" lawsuits and larger damage awards than most other states.
"I introduced AB 1505 to curb California's jackpot justice system by giving judges clear rules for handling complex cases in their courtrooms, just as they do at the federal level," Parra said in a statement.
The bill is a sharp poke in the eye to trial lawyers, who are among the biggest campaign contributors to the Democrats who control the state Legislature.
"That bill is designed to shield corporations from being held responsible and accountable when they steal money from people," said Raymond Boucher, president of the Consumer Attorneys of California.
Asked if his group plans to try to bring pressure on Assembly leaders to get Parra to back off, he said, "We'll give Ms. Parra the respect of speaking to her, and then we'll go from there."
The Allensworth issue is not as simple as it sounds.
For one thing, it is one of the few times Parra and her arch-enemy, state Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter, find themselves on the same side of an issue. Both are official co-authors of the buffer bill introduced by Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter, D-Rialto.
But to no one's surprise, the two can also butt heads over it.
Florez blames Parra for helping scuttle his bill that would have barred construction of dairies close to schools and housing developments a few years ago to protect them from flies, odors and air pollution. Now, he says, she's suddenly in favor of a buffer around a park.
"There's a lot of political correctness here, and that's good," Florez said. "I support that. But we should be focusing on the issue of odors and air quality" for everyone.
Parra doesn't see it that way.
"I still don't support an artificial buffer," she said.
Tulare County's Conway said local officials are upset with Parra, whom they have long considered an ally on local control issues, for supporting a bill that they believe "confiscates the local land-use planning process."
"We were not surprised to see Dean Florez on the bill, given his long-standing anti-dairy stance," Conway said. "But people who spoke to me, some of them were surprised to see Ms. Parra on the bill."
Vic Pollard's column appears every other Thursday. E-mail him at vpollard@bakersfield .com.