Governor Gives Remarks at Governor's Summit on the Advanced Transportation Industry

Thank you very much, Vickie, for the wonderful introduction and for the great job that you're doing. I also want to say thank you to Secretary Kawamura for hosting this here and letting us have this facility and also for the great job that he is doing. And then Karen Douglas, the chair of the California Energy Commission and so many of the others that are here today -- and you will be having a little talk later on but I just want to say that this is really amazing, when I just walked around out there and I saw all your products. I mean, you have no idea of how proud I feel of all of you.

And when you think about that when I came into office in 2003, I remember I asked our administration to go and have a display in the next auto show, in the next car show in Los Angeles of alternative-fuel vehicles. And at that point, the first display, I remember we had were two vehicles -- two. But you know, you always have to begin somewhere, because every marathon starts with the first step and I was happy that we had two vehicles so we could show and talk about the importance of creating those kind of vehicles.

In the last auto show we had 17 vehicles. Today when I walked around I was counting and there were 20 different vehicles. And they were not all even there. Tesla, for instance, didn't come with their vehicle because they sold all out and then Fisker were not there because they sold everything out. So those are great reasons why they were not there but it just shows to you of how much action there is now in California.

And so I think that we all are here because we believe in the promise of a clean energy future and we want California to continue leading the way into that future. I mean, one needs only to look to the Gulf of Mexico and the tragedy and what happens when you just rely on oil. And I think that this has really woken up everybody. It makes people think slowly of what are the alternatives. And I think, tragically, when you look at that, of what it has done, of how it really wipes out the economy down there and how it kills jobs and how it wipes out also companies and destroys the ecosystems and all this.

And it is shameful how desperate and how dependent we have become on fossil fuels. I mean, 95 percent of our transportation is done through fossil fuels and that's pitiful. And the sad story is that whenever they raise the oil price we have no alternative -- except the things that you're producing now. And this is why I'm so happy to be here today with all of you, because I believe that the people are ready to go to alternative fueled vehicles and to alternative vehicles.

And I don't believe what Thomas Friedman said, when he said that we are addicted to oil, because I think there's a difference between having alternatives and you're addicted to one thing, you have to have this one thing. That's an addiction. Like if I have a choice to drink water versus schnapps but I continuously drink schnapps, then I have an alcohol problem and I should go to an addiction center to get rid of my addiction. But if I only have schnapps to drink, you know, then it's another thing.

And the same is with oil. This 95 percent -- that's all we have. So now, slowly, we are developing the alternative fuels. And the sad story really is that our federal government has really shown no leadership. That is really the sad story. I mean, during the Bush Administration they thought that the answer was corn fuel, ethanol. And they picked a winner which was, I think, a big mistake. I don't think the government ought to ever pick a winner. The market picks the winner. The people will pick the winner, what is best. When we have so many varieties of different kinds of fuels now, let the people choose.

And now with this administration we hope that we're going in the right direction. The administration is already thinking about going in the right direction but Congress is still debating over it. I don't know how much longer we should debate. We need an energy policy so that we know where our energy is coming from. Do we want to continue relying on countries and sending $400 billion a year to countries that hate us, or do we want to go in a different direction? I mean, that is really the question.

And this is why I have been, since I have come into office, used this office to really promote alternative fuel vehicles and have California be the leader and show to the rest of the countries and the rest of the states in the United States, which direction that they can go. The good news is that we know which way to go and what is the right way to go. We know that we can meet our energy demands without harming the environment and our natural resources that we all cherish.

And like I said, we in California have taken on the leadership role. A big reason is because of the policies that we have put in place. If you think about it, since I came into office:

* AB 32, to make a commitment to roll back our greenhouse gases by 25 percent by the year 2020,
* Or the world's first Low-Carbon Fuel Standards,
* The Tailpipe Emission Standards,
* Tax incentives for green technology companies,
* 33 percent of renewables by the year 2020.

Those are all great goals. No one in the United States even comes close to those kinds of goals. And the federal government slowly, like with the CAFE Standards, they are now adopting our standards. So we are a great inspiration not only to this country but to the rest of the world.

And what is important is that we not, like I said earlier, pick winners. Let the public do that. Government is terrible at that. And I have said this over and over; I think what we need to do is we need to go and set policies and then get out of the way as fast as we can.

I think that we have seen amazing things here in California. Over the last few years I have seen zero-emission motorcycles, we have seen electric sports cars, electric big rigs. We have seen hydrogen-powered big rigs and cars. We have seen hybrid tugboats even, down in the ports of Long Beach and L.A. We have seen hydrogen cars, we have seen electric Hummers, we have seen hydrogen locomotives and we have seen just out there a propane truck. So there are all kinds of action in every different direction.

I visited a company in San Francisco, Solazyme, with the French foreign trade minister. It made me proud to show off to that trade minister, to show what we can produce here in California. It was wonderful. And she was shocked when she saw that and that the Navy now have made a deal with Solazyme to get this fuel to power their ships -- which of course, as you know, the ships are one of the biggest polluters.

So really, no matter what direction you look, we see great, great action. Just recently a leading Chinese clean-car manufacturer, BYD, recently chose to locate its North American headquarters right here in California, because this is becoming the center of alternative fuel vehicles. Last month Toyota announced a historic partnership with Tesla Motors to build electric cars in Freemont.

And just a few minutes ago I saw some terrific other technologies down there and we talked about it, so it's really great to see that. I'm glad that all of you are here today so that we can hear about the amazing work that you are doing and also ask you questions and talk to you about what can we do as government to help you, because I believe very strongly in a public-partnership. But it should be the kind of partnership where government is not an obstacle to success. We should always be a partner in prosperity, we always should be a partner.

And this is why, for instance, I just came from East Los Angeles where we expanded the East Los Angeles Enterprise Zone, just to give you an idea. We had meetings like this with business leaders and they requested that. Baxter BioScience was one of the companies that they celebrated and because we expanded we helped them with $3.6 million a year.

So when you talk and when we find out what you need -- not just what we need but what you need -- so we can be partners to you. That is what this day is all about. We want to make sure that we hear from you directly, because we're going to want to move forward very aggressively with our agenda.

There are still seven months to go in my administration so I still, during that time -- like I said, I want to run through the finish line. I don't believe in this "lame duck" kind of stuff. I don't believe in just hanging the last year, as so many times leaders do. I believe in full action, as I came into office, to use this office to create the action for California and I want to go out exactly like that.

And you also should know that even when I'm finished with my office and when I'm finished with this job -- which, by the way, was the greatest job I've ever had, even though we were hit by a tremendous economic downturn like the rest of the world. But you can't pick that, that is beyond your power. But just to serve the people of California has been such a pleasure. And as I've said so many times, not just as an American but as an immigrant that came over here with absolutely nothing. And because this state and this country has given me the opportunities that I've had and made it possible for me to become successful in so many different areas -- if it is in bodybuilding and in sports, or if it is in making money, if it is in business, if it is in show business and acting and now in this job -- it's all because of America.

So for me it always has been a great pleasure to take seven years out of my life -- now, I never thought that I would ever do that, when I was young, that I would take seven years out of my life and work for nothing. (Laughter) But you know, it doesn't mean anything to me. I made a lot of money because of America. Now is the time to give something back. And when I got involved with Special Olympics and with after-school programs, I learned of how much joy it is actually to do things where you don't think about money or about your career. And this is exactly what this is. This is just the ultimate job for that.

And so I want you to know that after I'm through with this that I will continue on my mission on helping companies and promote alternative fuel vehicles and for California to be energy efficient and to create the renewables and to fight for laws so we go in that direction. So that is the bottom line. For me this is never over. It's like working out. Yeah, I stopped competing at one point when I got too old and my bones were hurting but I didn't stop training. And the same is with this. Yes, the time will come when I'm finished with this job but I will continue on promoting all of those things and working with all of you.

So I want to wish all of you good luck today with your meetings with our officials. And just be open and frank about what you need and then we will sit down with you and work with you so we make sure that this will stay the capital of the world, the Mecca of energy, alternative energy fueled vehicles. That is the bottom line.

Thank you very much, all of you. Thank you. (Applause)

QUESTIONS/ANSWERS:

GOVERNOR: Hello, everybody. Good afternoon, how are you?

QUESTION: Good, thank you.

GOVERNOR: Well, as you know, we're all here because of alternative fueled vehicles and promoting that. As you know, that every month we have vehicles displayed in front of the Capitol. And I try to do that in order to put the spotlight on those alternative fueled vehicles, if it is hydrogen or propane or if it is hybrid or electric. Whatever it is, we try to put the spotlight on that to show to people there are alternative fuel vehicles available in California, you can buy them now and you don't have to rely anymore on fossil fuel.

And so today we have, of course, brought all of the companies in California together in order to meet with them and to find out from them what can we, as government, do in order to help them and to make sure that we stay the capital of alternative fuel vehicles in the United States and worldwide. We are inspiring the rest of the world to go in that direction.

So this is what this meeting is all about. And so my team will be working with all of those businesses in order to find out what we can do and what we can do better to create jobs, green technology jobs and also to help them with their business.

So if you have any questions about that, feel free. And if you have other questions --

QUESTION: Governor, it's June 15th, which is the constitutional deadline for the budget. Once again, it will not be passed. Do you fully expect that you'll have to extend furloughs once they expire at the end of June?

GOVERNOR: Well, right now -- as you know, yesterday we had a Big Five Meeting where we talked about the urgency to get a budget done. And also we talked about the importance of doing a budget that is real, that does not rely on borrowing or tax increases but relies on living within our means, just like my Budget Proposal is. And I made it clear to them it doesn't have to be exactly my budget but it has to be within this parameter of not going out borrowing, because we can't, we're not allowed under Proposition 58. And also not to raise taxes, because we've done that last year. So let's not hit people again just because, you know, they cannot go and make ends meet. So that is the important thing.

And also, I explained that each day that we don't have a budget -- if you take the $19 billion deficit and you divide it in 365 days, you will end up with around $52 million a day that California is spending, from July 1 on, every day, beyond of what we take in. So this is why it is so important not to get deeper into the problem but to solve the problem as quickly as possible.

QUESTION: You expect you'll have to extend furloughs, though, if this extends into July?

GOVERNOR: Well, you know, I don't go by ifs right now, because I expect to have a budget in July. So we will do everything that we can and be as accommodating and put the pressure on the legislature and let them know, let's get together, Democrats and Republicans, let's start negotiating, let's get into the meat of it and really deal with all this.

And what is also so important is that they recognize that we've got to go and really deal with the pension problem, the public pension problem, because we have there a $500 billion debt, as everyone has recognized now and that we can't continue making those kind of payments that we do because it crowds out other programs. That's very important.

And then we have budget reform so we don't get into those kind of situations again. We've got to put some reserves aside so when we have spikes in revenues that we put some of this money aside for when the economy is down.

QUESTION: Given your opposition to borrowing -- given your opposition to borrowing, does that mean that the Assembly plan to use the beverage recycling fund, is that dead on arrival?

GOVERNOR: Well, first of all, it's illegal. As you know, under Proposition 58 we cannot borrow. So the great thing, what we did when I first came into office is, we tightened the noose so that California cannot go out and continue borrowing, because that's what did California in, in the first place. That's why we are in this sad situation, because in the old days we were borrowing and borrowing and borrowing. So now we have cut that down and we also tightened the noose so we can't do that anymore. So not only am I against borrowing but also the law forbids you from borrowing.

QUESTION: And you believe that qualifies under that law?

GOVERNOR: Oh, without any doubt, yes.

QUESTION: Governor, how long are you willing to hold out for overhauling the pensions this summer?

GOVERNOR: Well, I will not sign a budget without pension overhaul and reform. The same is also with the budget. So that's very important. We cannot miss this opportunity. This is a perfect time, where we know what the problem is. Let's solve it so the thing doesn't work anymore, when anyone says over there at the Capitol, "Why don't we do that next year? Let's just do a budget and get out of town." This will not work this time. This time we have to solve those problems.

QUESTION: Governor, what do you think the president should say tonight when he addresses the country about the Gulf oil spill?

GOVERNOR: Look, we all know this is a terrible situation that we're in. I'm looking forward to hearing the president's speech.

And I'm looking forward for everyone to work together so that we can solve this as quickly as possible, because all the finger pointing doesn't solve the problem. What solves problems is when everyone gets together and there's leadership there and it goes and solves those problems and runs those problems. That's what you need to do.

And I can sympathize with the administration and I can sympathize with everybody that is involved in this, because sometimes we get hit by those things without anyone kind of -- by being really surprised and not expecting those kind of things. So we have been hit by tragedy in this state and so the key thing is just to get together and solve it.

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