The State : Slug Measure Inches Ahead

A bill designating the banana slug the official state mollusk was narrowly passed by the Assembly. A 42-30 vote sent the measure to an uncertain fate in the Senate. The legislation is sponsored by Assemblyman Byron D. Sher (D-Palo Alto), who introduced it at the recommendation of a troop of Campfire Girls in his district. Sher told his colleagues that banana slugs eat dead leaves, turning them into nutrients that nourish the state tree, the California redwood. An opponent, Assemblyman Stan Statham (R-Oak Run), countered that the slug is ugly and slimy.