September 11, 2007 (LPAC)--On Sept. 9th, the California State Republican Party unanimously voted to organize an end to the state's 31-year ban on building new nuclear plants, at the party's semi-annual convention. The resolution was authored by State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore (R-Irvine), and his group, Power for California, is gathering the 433,971 signatures needed to put it on the June 2008 ballot. The formal title of the initiative, assigned last week by the Attorney General, is: "Nuclear Energy. Removal of Prohibitions on the Construction of Nuclear Power Plants," according to Power for California.

California has been not only the (tarnished) poster state for electricity deregulation, but for decades, the poster child for "flower power--not nuclear power." But a recent poll has Californians favoring new nuclear power plants 52-42%. DeVore said his power was out for 11 hours on Labor Day, when it was 103 degrees, and that "it was a powerful reminder that reliable, affordable, and clean electricity is a basic necessity of modern life."