SACRAMENTO, Calif. - How many people does it take to change a light bulb? In California, the answer could be a majority of the Legislature.
The electricity-wasting incandescent bulb would be banned -- replaced by energy efficient compact fluorescents -- under a bill that Assemblyman Lloyd Levine plans to introduce.
He says the spiral light sources are so efficient that consumers should be forced to use them. The compact bulbs use one-fourth the electricity spent in an equivalent incandescent.
"Incandescent light bulbs were first developed almost 125 years ago, and since that time they have undergone no major modifications," said Levine, a Democrat from Los Angeles, said in a news release Tuesday. "It's time to take a step forward."
The bulb bill was not yet on the legislative calendar. Last year, the Legislature passed a Levine bill that requires large supermarkets to recycle plastic bags. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed that bill but has not taken a position on the light bulb proposal.
Assemblyman Jared Huffman, who represents San Rafael, is working on a similar bill.
Critics say people should be allowed to make their own choices about which bulbs they buy, but Levine, who heads the Assembly's Utilities and Commerce Committee, points out that electric utilities give them away.
