Supported by The Climate Center

SB 938 (Min) Utility Accountability Act

Status: Active
Year: 2024
Power lines at sunset. Photo via Canva.

SB 938, introduced in January 2024 by Senator Dave Min, would prohibit investor-owned utilities from passing on lobbying costs to ratepayers. Corporate utilities have been lobbying against clean energy and climate-safe measures in our state legislature for years and ratepayers have been footing the bill. A Sacramento Bee investigation concluded that SoCal Gas, the state’s … Read more

Supported by The Climate Center

ACA 16 (Bryan) The Green Amendment

Status: Active
Year: 2024
People enjoying the park. Photo via Canva.

ACA 16 is a constitutional amendment that will enshrine a Californian’s right to clean air, water, and a healthy environment.  California is thought to be a leader on climate, but the 40 million people who call California home do not have a fundamental right to clean air, water, and a healthy environment. With no permanent … Read more

Supported by The Climate Center

AB 3155 (Friedman) Oil Drilling Liability for Health Impacts

Status: Active
Year: 2024
Oil drilling in a neighborhood. Photo by Tara Pixley.

AB 3155 would hold oil and gas companies financially liable for health impacts like cancer, respiratory illnesses, and birth defects caused by oil and gas exposure. The affected individual would have to live for at least two years within 3,200 feet of an oil well or gas production facility and the facility must have failed … Read more

Supported by The Climate Center

AB 3233 (Addis) Local government authority over oil drilling

Status: Active
Year: 2024
Oil drilling site. Photo via Canva.

AB 3233 protects the right of local governments to regulate, limit, and phase out oil and gas operations in their jurisdictions. Local governments have always had the authority to regulate oil and gas pollution in their jurisdictions, but these rights have recently come under attack by Big Oil.  A recent decision by the California Supreme … Read more

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More reasons why California must stop oil drilling

Neighborhood oil drilling in California

Despite our reputation for climate leadership, California still produces hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil per day. Each day this practice continues, the state is failing millions of residents who face toxic and dangerous conditions in their communities.  In early February in Bakersfield, an oil pipe burst in front of an elementary school, sending … Read more

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Stop Big Oil’s carbon capture scam in California

Big Oil is pushing to greenlight the first-ever carbon capture and storage scam in California. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) prolongs the burning of fossil fuels and poses serious public health risks, despite Big Oil falsely advertising it as a climate solution. These projects have consistently proven ineffective, unsafe, and expensive. Fossil fuel corporations claim … Read more

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Testimony: Save California’s clean air safety net

People protest before a public meeting of South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) Hearing Board.

On February 29, 2024, the California Senate Budget Subcommittee on Resources, Environmental Protection, and Energy met to hear from experts and the public on the proposed 2024-2025 state budget. Facing a projected $73 billion budget deficit, Governor Newsom has proposed billions in potential cuts to climate and energy investments. If approved by the legislature, the … Read more

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Climate impacts don’t hit Californians equally

Another year of record-breaking heat resulted in a major increase in heat-related deaths across the country in 2023, with people of color and the elderly most impacted. Here in California, extreme heat combined with wildfire smoke caused increased hospitalizations for lower-income communities as well as Latino, Black, Asian, and other communities of color.  The legacy … Read more

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Passing 1.5 degrees Celsius and what you can do about it

Last weekend’s storm that knocked out power for 800,000 Californians drove home what climate extremes mean in real life. The storm was yet another record-breaker after a year of climate disruptions that shocked scientists — from record-high temperature averages in 77 countries to severe floods in China, Greece, India, Libya, New Zealand, and the United … Read more