Keep tabs on climate and energy legislation in California and urge your representatives to take action for a climate-safe future.
California lawmakers are poised to invest taxpayer dollars in developing hydrogen technologies to power the electricity grid, cars, trucks, ships, planes, and industrial processes. Before making such a commitment, lawmakers must better understand the health, safety, and financial risks of pursuing hydrogen and the opportunity cost of choosing it over other technologies. For example, electrifying … Read more
SB 253 has passed out of the legislature and is headed to Governor Newsom’s desk for signature! Thank you to Senator Scott Wiener, our partners at California Environmental Voters, and the thousands of Californians who stood up to fossil fuel corporations to get this bill over the finish line. Many of the largest corporations doing … Read more
Existing law, the California Coastal Act of 1976 requires anyone wishing to perform or undertake any development in the coastal zone to obtain a coastal development permit from the California Coastal Commission. This bill would authorize the Commission to authorize blue carbon demonstration projects in order to demonstrate and quantify the carbon sequestration potential of … Read more
Existing law vests the Department of Transportation (CalTrans) with full possession and control of all state highways and all property and rights in property acquired for state highway purposes. Existing law authorizes CalTrans to lease, for up to 99 years, areas above or below state highways to public or private entities. Existing law also authorizes … Read more
Existing law authorizes the California Energy Commission (CEC) to prescribe, by regulation, energy efficiency standards, including appliance efficiency standards, to reduce the wasteful, uneconomic, inefficient, or unnecessary consumption of energy, including to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) associated with electricity generation and the timing of an appliance’s use, as specified. This bill would provide … Read more
Existing law establishes the Atmospheric Rivers: Research, Mitigation, and Climate Forecasting Program in the Department of Water Resources. Existing law requires the department, upon an appropriation for purposes of the program, to research climate forecasting and the causes and impacts that climate change has on atmospheric rivers, to operate reservoirs in a manner that improves … Read more
Existing law requires certain transportation planning agencies to prepare and adopt regional transportation plans directed at achieving a coordinated and balanced regional transportation system. Existing law requires each regional transportation plan to also include a sustainable communities strategy prepared by each metropolitan planning organization in order to, among other things, achieve certain targets established by … Read more
Existing law requires the California Public Utilities Commission to adopt a process for each load-serving entity (LSE), defined to include the big utilities and CCAs, to file an integrated resource plan (IRP) and a schedule for periodic updates to the plan to ensure that it meets the state’s targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases … Read more
Existing law requires the Department of Food and Agriculture to promote and protect the agricultural industry of the state. Existing law under Article XVI of the California Constitution requires measures authorizing general obligation bonds to specify the single object or work to be funded by the bonds and further requires a bond act to be … Read more
Existing law, the Cannella Environmental Farming Act of 1995 requires the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) to establish and oversee the Healthy Soils Program to seek to optimize climate benefits while supporting the economic viability of California agriculture by providing incentives, including loans, grants, research, and technical assistance, and educational materials and outreach … Read more