Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

Committee to Suss Out Controversial Exodus at State Air Board

The recent firing and resignation at the state agency that oversees air quality rules in California is prompting lots of questions from top lawmakers. A special hearing about it has been called for Fr

Committee to Suss Out Controversial Exodus at State Air Board

The recent firing and resignation at the state agency that oversees air quality rules in California is prompting lots of questions from top lawmakers. A special hearing about it has been called for Friday. Jenny O'Mara reports from Sacramento.

Last week, the Chairman of the California Air Resources Board , Robert Sawyer, was fired by the Schwarzenegger administration.  Just a few days later, the board's executive director, Catherine Witherspoon, quit.

Advertisement

She accuses administration staffers of blocking efforts to implement a state law capping greenhouse gases.

Assembly Natural Resources Committee Chair Loni Hancock will oversee a hearing on the issue. She says the accusations are troubling.

Hancock : It's way too soon to start watering the law down that is what we have indications happened, we need to get to the bottom of it, and we need to turn it around, and we need to put an end to it right away.

Governor Schwarzenegger has defended his actions and he says accusations of staff "micromanaging" the board are unfair.