California passed a number of important bills into law this year, including bills to hold corporations accountable for their carbon emissions, codify 30×30 conservation goals, move transportation toward zero-emissions vehicles and infrastructure, make it easier to implement transmission infrastructure and finance large-scale infrastructure projects, and reign in oil industry greed at the expense of consumers.
The state legislature also had to make adjustments to the historic climate investments that it passed in the last two years and consider plans for a climate bond that would ensure continued funding for programs impacted by budget cuts. At this event, California legislators discussed their achievements and challenges from 2023, as well as remaining policy gaps as they look forward to 2024.
Speakers
Assemblymember Robert Rivas represents California’s 29th Assembly District. Prior to the Assembly, Rivas served two terms on the San Benito County Board of Supervisors. He was raised in Paicines, California, where his grandfather was a farmworker.
Read full bio 
I was elected in 2014 and am proud to serve the people in California’s 2nd Assembly District, which comprises all of Del Norte, Trinity, Humboldt, and Mendocino counties, plus northern and western Sonoma County, including the northern half of Santa Rosa…
Read full bio
Senator Henry Stern is a sixth-generation Californian and native of this district. He credits his passion for public service as a family trait, whose diverse history includes farming and ranching, music and film, and a steadfast commitment to helping young people fulfill their potential. Senator Stern was elected to represent the 27th Senate District, which includes parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, on November 8, 2016. Senator Stern has also lectured at UCLA and UC Berkeley, enjoys volunteering at his local Boys & Girls Club and is a member of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Advisory Committee, the Jewish Federation, the American Jewish Committee, and the Truman National Security Project. He is an alumnus of Harvard University and UC Berkeley Law.
Read full bio
María Elena was born into a family of eleven children with migrant worker parents who experienced the hardships that migrant laborers suffer. María Elena earned her degree from St. Mary’s College in Moraga, California, where she became involved in the Chicano Movement. She entered the labor movement as an organizer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union and earned a law degree from the People’s College of Law. María Elena has been the Executive Vice President of UNITE-HERE International and the first woman Secretary-Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, the second-largest labor council in the country. She has also served on the National AFL-CIO Executive Council, the California State Coastal Commission, the Democratic National Committee as Vice Chair, and the Barack Obama Presidential Campaign as National Co-Chair.
Read full bio
