AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION URGES: NO ON PROP 45

SACRAMENTO – The American Lung Association, the nation’s leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease, today announced its opposition to Proposition 45, the California Chamber of Commerce’s 41-page ballot initiative that would roll back state environmental protections and weaken the state’s defense against President Trump’s attack on state clean air, clean water and public health laws.

“The American Lung Association is calling on Californians to reject Proposition 45 because it undermines clean air protections,” said Will Barrett, Assistant Vice President of Nationwide Policy, Clean Air. “At a time when our air quality is at grave risk to federal clean air rollbacks, attacks on California’s Clean Air Act authority and legislation to weaken clean air protections, Proposition 45 would invite even more pollution into California neighborhoods.”

The American Lung Association claims championing clean air for all as a strategic imperative. The organization’s highly regarded annual “State of the Air” report has found several California cities, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno, Bakersfield, and Visalia, among the top 10 most polluted in the country repeatedly.

The American Lung Association, the nation’s oldest and largest non-profit organization dedicated to lung health and preventing lung disease, joins more than 340 other organizations opposed to Proposition 45. They include Physicians for Social Responsibility SF and LA, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, and the Coalition for Clean Air.

The independent Legislative Analyst’s Office concluded the measure will likely cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, which does not even account for the added costs to Californians’ health.

The American Lung Association announced their opposition to Proposition 45 at a virtual press event today with health professionals based in the San Francisco Bay Area and San Diego. A recording of the event can be provided to media upon request to Press@NoProp45CA.com.