We advocate for Climate-Safe California
Check back frequently for updates during legislative sessions (January – October every year).
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Updated 4/14/2021
Throughout the 2021 legislative session this page will be updated weekly and a link to it will be published weekly in The Climate Center’s e-news.
Below is a partial list of 93 bills we are tracking in the 2021 legislative session listed in several categories, numerically in each category. For details on any bill listed below, click on the hyperlinked bill number and that will bring you to the State’s official legislative info page for that bill. For the complete list of 93 bills we are tracking, click HERE.
Categories below include:
- Bills sponsored by The Climate Center
- Bills that The Climate Center supports
- Assembly Bills
- Senate Bill
- Bills that The Climate Center is inclined to support, or support if amended
- Bills that The Climate Center is inclined to oppose, or oppose unless amended
- Bills that The Climate Center opposes
- Bills that The Climate Center is monitoring but for which we have not taken a public position
- Assembly Bills
- Senate Bills
- Bills that have died
Bills sponsored by The Climate Center
AB 1325 (Burke) This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission (“Commission” or “CPUC”) to develop and implement a Clean Community Microgrid Incentive Program by 2022 to fund community microgrids that support the critical needs of vulnerable communities that utilize distributed energy resources for the generation of electricity. Read the author’s FACTSHEET. STATUS: Referred to Assembly Energy Committee.
SB 99 (Dodd) The Community Energy Resilience Act of 2021 would require the California Energy Commission to develop and implement a technical assistance and grant program to support local governments in developing community energy resilience plans, prioritizing state support for the most vulnerable communities. The bill sets forth guiding principles for plan development, including equitable access to reliable energy, and integration with other existing local planning documents. For more information about this bill, read the author’s FACTSHEET and visit our Community Energy Resilience page. Also, read the organization SIGN-ON LETTER. STATUS: Set for April 19 hearing in Senate Energy Committee. Here is a link to easily SHOW YOUR SUPPORT.
Bills that The Climate Center supports
Assembly Bills
AB 39 (Chau) Would establish the California-China Climate Institute, housed at UC Berkeley, in partnership with the Institute of Climate Change and Sustainable Development at Tsinghua University, China to foster collaboration to inform and shape climate policy and advance the goals of the Paris Agreement, advance joint policy research on major climate issues, support high-level dialogue on specific climate issues, and provide training to specified entities to advance climate and environmental policies. STATUS: Set for April 14 hearing in the Asm Nat. Resources Committee.
AB 43 (Friedman, Ting Chiu, Quirk) The bill would require the California Traffic Safety Program to identify and address locations with pedestrian and bicycle related crashes and would extend the period of time a lowered speed limit can be justified as necessary for safety (as opposed to being used as a speed trap) if there has been an increase in traffic-related crashes. Replaces the 85% rule for setting speed limits. The Climate Center supports this bill because it aims to improve active transportation safety. Active transportation (walking, bicycling) is an important part of GHG reductions in the transportation sector. STATUS: Set for April 19 hearing in the Asm Transportation Committee.
AB 50 (Boerner-Horvath) Existing law requires the Natural Resources Agency, in collaboration with the Ocean Protection Council, to create, and update biannually, a Planning for Sea Level Rise Database describing steps being taken throughout the state to prepare for and adapt to sea level rise. This bill would establish the Climate Adaptation Center and Regional Support Network in the Ocean Protection Council to provide local governments facing sea level rise with information and scientific expertise necessary to proceed with sea level rise mitigation. STATUS: Assigned to Assembly Natural Resources Committee.
AB 125 (R.Rivas) AB 125 is a $3 billion bond to build back a more resilient and equitable food and farm system that would protect and house our essential workers. The Equitable Economic Recovery, Healthy Food Access, Climate Resilient Farms and Worker Protection Bond Act (Rivas, AD 30), invests in 4 pillars of the food system: sustainable agricultural solutions to the climate crisis, farmworker safety and well-being, combating hunger and increasing healthy food access, and regional food economies. Read the Healthy Soils Coalition Bill Summary. STATUS: Set for April 15 hearing in Asm Agriculture Committee.
AB 284 (R. Rivas) This bill would require the Air Resources Board, when updating the scoping plan and in collaboration with other relevant state agencies, to take specified actions by January 1, 2023, including, among others, identifying a 2045 climate goal, with interim milestones, for the state’s natural and working lands and identifying practices, policy incentives, market needs, and potential reductions in barriers that would help achieve the 2045 climate goal. The bill would require the ARB to develop standard methods for state agencies to consistently track GHG emissions reductions, carbon sequestration, and additional benefits from natural and working lands over time. Read The Climate Center’s Letter of Support. STATUS: Approved March 24 in Assembly Natural Resources Committee, referred to Appropriations Committee.
AB 303 (R. Rivas) This bill would establish a pilot program to test a new approach to mariculture permitting without sacrificing the high environmental standards the industry in California currently achieves. Also known as marine farming, mariculture is a specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine plants and animals for food and other purposes in the open ocean, an enclosed section of the ocean, or in tanks or ponds filled with seawater. Increasing California mariculture can reduce the use of fossil fuels currently used to import seafood from long distances. Read The Climate Center’s Letter of Support. STATUS: Heard April 8 in the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. Re-referred to same committee.
AB 339 (Cristina Garcia, Lee) This is a bill aimed at improving on the existing open meetings laws (Ralph M. Brown, Bagley-Keene, and the Dymally-Alatorre Bilingual Services Acts). The bill focuses on ensuring meaningful public participation in light of the increased use of remote access platforms. STATUS: Introduced.
AB 372 (Leyva) This bill would require the California Pollution Control Financing Authority to establish a program to make financing tools and non-financial supports available to the operators of medium- and heavy-duty vehicle fleets to enable those operators to transition their fleets to zero-emission vehicles. The bill would require the authority to consult with various state agencies and stakeholders in the development and implementation of the program. STATUS: Approved April 12 in the Asm Env. Quality Committee. Referred to Transportation Committee.
AB 525 (Chiu) Introduced by Assembly Members Chiu, Cunningham, and Friedman (Assembly Coauthors: Bennett, Calderon, Quirk, and Ting) (Senate Co-authors: Eggman, Wiener) A bill to promote offshore wind-power development. Read The Climate Center’s Letter of Support. See author’s factsheet. STATUS: Double referred to Asm Energy and Natural Resources Committees. April 7 hearing postponed by Asm Energy Committee.
AB 585 (L.Rivas, et al) This bill would establish the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program to coordinate the state’s efforts to address extreme heat and to facilitate the implementation of regional and state climate change planning into effective projects through the awarding of competitive grants to eligible entities for implementation of those projects. The bill would require the Office of Planning and Research to administer the program. The bill would establish the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Fund in the State Treasury and would require the office, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to expend moneys in the fund for the implementation of the program. STATUS: Voted out of Asm Natural Resources Committee March 24, referred to Appropriations Committee.
AB 699 (Salas) This bill would require the California Public Utilities Commission to establish the Flexible Demand Appliances Rebate Program to incentivize the deployment of qualified flexible demand appliances to certain residential ratepayers. STATUS: Approved April 7 in Assembly Energy Committee.
AB 896 (Bennett) This bill would strengthen enforcement of payment of fines for hazardous idle oil & gas wells. Read the coalition Letter of Support that The Climate Center signed on to. STATUS: Voted out of Natural Resources Committee March 24, referred to Appropriations Committee.
AB 1087 (Chiu) This bill would create an Environmental Justice Community Resilience Hubs Program, which would require each investor-owned utility (IOU) to award competitive grants to owners of critical community institutions and qualified housing for holistic community-driven building upgrade projects that demonstrate community engagement in all phases, demonstrate multi-stakeholder partnerships, reflect the geographic diversity of the state, and are installed on those properties. STATUS: Double-referred to Asm. Energy and Natural Resources committees. Approved April 7 hearing in Asm Energy Committee. Referred to Natural Resources Committee.
AB 1110 (R. Rivas) Existing law, the Charge Ahead California Initiative, administered by the Air Resources Board, includes goals of, among other things, placing in service at least one million zero-emission and near-zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by January 1, 2023, and establishing a self-sustaining California market for ZEVs in which ZEVs are a viable mainstream option for individual vehicle purchasers, businesses, and public fleets. This bill would establish the California Clean Fleet Accelerator Program (Program), administered by the Department of General Services. The Program will provide smaller local governments and rural public entities with the much needed technical and financial support to procure ZEVs for their fleets. AB 1110 is designed to ensure that the environmental benefits and fiscal cost savings associated with zero emission vehicle fleets are available to all public entities in our state. STATUS: Set for a second hearing April 27 hearing in the Asm. Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy Committee.
AB 1177 (Santiago, et al) This bill, the California Public Banking Option Act (Act), would establish in state government the Public Banking Option Board to administer the BankCal Program, which the Act would create for the purpose of protecting one quarter of California residents who lack access to traditional banking services from predatory, discriminatory, and costly alternatives, by offering access to voluntary, zero-fee, zero-penalty, federally insured transaction account and debit card services at no cost to account holders. A public bank has the statutory authority to make its own climate-smart investments that support California’s economy and climate goals. Read the Author’s Factsheet. STATUS: In the Assembly Committee on Banking and Finance.
AB 1365 (Bonta) This bill would add concrete to the state’s Buy Clean program to leverage California’s purchasing power in deploying low carbon technologies and best practices across the cement-concrete supply chain. STATUS: Set for April 14 hearing in the Asm Accountability and Administrative Review Committee.
AB 1371 (Friedman) This bill would prohibit online retailers that sell or deliver products in California from using single-use plastic packaging that consists of shipping envelopes, cushioning, or void fill to package or transport the products, on and after January 1, 2023, for large online retailers, and on and after January 1, 2025, for small online retailers. The bill would also prohibit using expanded polystyrene packaging to package or transport products. STATUS: Set for an April 14 hearing in the Natural Resources Committee.
Senate Bills
SB 17 (Pan) Would establish a state Office of Racial Equity. STATUS: Heard April 13 in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
SB 27 (Skinner) Creates the California Carbon Sequestration and Climate Resilience Project Registry in order to maintain a list of eligible but unfunded projects, which then may be funded by public or private entities in order to mitigate California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve climate resilience. Also directs the CA Air Resources Board to add carbon sequestration targets to the state’s climate protection efforts. Read The Climate Center’s Letter of Support. STATUS: Set for April 27 hearing in the Senate Natural Resources Committee.
SB 30 (Cortese) This bill, dubbed the “State Buildings and Assets Decarbonization Act of 2021” mandates that State buildings and assets achieve carbon-neutrality by 2035 and that the State divest from projects that are not zero emission by 2023. Beginning in 2022, all newly designed and constructed state buildings must be zero emission. SB 30 Fact Sheet. STATUS: Referred to Senate Governmental Organization Committee.
SB 31 (Cortese) This bill, dubbed the “Decarbonization Programs Act” would develop new building decarbonization programs through the California Energy Commission and the Public Utilities Commission, with a particular emphasis on providing opportunities for low income customers. SB 31 Fact Sheet. Read The Climate Center’s Letter of Support. STATUS: Set for April 19 hearing in the Senate Energy Committee.
SB 32 (Cortese) This bill, dubbed the “Decarbonization Act of 2021” would require all cities and counties in California to update their General Plans with objectives, targets, and policies to fully decarbonize their building stock. SB 32 Fact Sheet. STATUS: Set for April 15 hearing in Senate Governance and Finance Committee.
SB 37 (Cortese) Would enact the Dominic Cortese “Cortese List” Act of 2021 and would expressly provide that a project that is included on the Cortese List shall also not be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as a project where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, commonly known as the “common-sense exemption.” SB 37 Fact Sheet. STATUS: Set for April 26 hearing in Sen. Env. Quality Committee.
SB 47 (Limón) Existing law prohibits CalGEM from spending more than $3 million in any one fiscal year for purposes related to hazardous wells, idle-deserted wells, hazardous facilities, and deserted facilities. This bill would indefinitely raise the cap on spending for these purposes to $10 million in any one fiscal year. STATUS: Set for April 19 hearing in the Sen Natural Resources and Water Committee.
SB 260 (Wiener, et al) This bill would require the Air Resources Board (ARB) to develop regulations requiring publicly traded corporations (covered entities) with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion that do business in California to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to set science-based emissions reduction targets. STATUS: Set for April 21 hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
SB 322 (Laird) This bill would establish the California Conservation Ranching Incentive Program as a separate component of the California Farmland Conservancy Program. STATUS: Heard March 22 in Senate Appropriations Committee – placed on Suspense File.
SB 342 (Gonzalez) This bill would add two members to the South Coast Air Quality Management District board, appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules and the Speaker of the Assembly. The bill would require the two additional members to reside in and work directly with communities in the South Coast Air Basin that are disproportionately burdened by and vulnerable to high levels of pollution and issues of environmental justice. The Climate Center supports this bill with a friendly amendment to include the same provision at the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Read the Letter of Support with Amendment that The Climate Center signed on to. STATUS: Approved April 12 in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. Referred to the Governance & Finance Committee.
SB 345 (Becker) This bill requires the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to establish common definitions of nonenergy benefits and attempt to determine consistent values for use in all distributed energy resource programs. Doing so will help ensure that California maximizes potential co-benefits, including (but not limited to) job creation, improved public health, and much more. The failure to include non-energy benefits in decisions has led to environmental justice communities being left behind, as demonstrated through data at the California Energy Commission and CPUC. Sponsored by the Greenlining Institute. Read The Climate Center’s Letter of Support. STATUS: Heard April 5 in Appropriations. Placed in Suspense File.
SB 449 (Limón) Californians and businesses based in the state face myriad risks associated with climate change, ranging from acute disasters to long-term trends such as droughts. Given the vast economic impacts that have occurred and will occur from climate-driven events, it is critical that businesses and financial institutions begin factoring those risks into their lending and investment decisions. SB 449 addresses this by requiring large California-based businesses to annually disclose their climate-related risks to the California Secretary of State, in accordance with the recommendations from the Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosure. These disclosures will include steps being taken by companies to reduce and adapt to climate-related risks. Read The Climate Center’s Letter of Support. STATUS: Set for a hearing in the Sen Banking and Financial Institutions Committee.
SB 551 (Stern) This bill would establish the California Electric Vehicle Authority within the Governor’s office and would require the authority to coordinate activities among state agencies to advance electric vehicle and zero-emission charging infrastructure deployment as well as ensure related equity, workforce development, economic development, and other needs are addressed. STATUS: Introduced. Triple-referred to Govt. Org., Transportation, and Energy committees. Heard April 6 in Govt Org Committee. Re-referred to same committee.
SB 582 (Stern) A bill that would mandate net negative GHG emissions in California no later than 2035. Read the Author’s Factsheet. STATUS: Approved in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee on a 5-2 vote. It now heads to the Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee. After that, it will go to the Sen. Appropriations Committee and then to a floor vote.
AB 585 (L.Rivas, et al) This bill would establish the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program to coordinate the state’s efforts to address extreme heat and to facilitate the implementation of regional and state climate change planning into effective projects through the awarding of competitive grants to eligible entities for implementation of those projects. The bill would require the Office of Planning and Research to administer the program. The bill would establish the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Fund in the State Treasury and would require the office, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to expend moneys in the fund for the implementation of the program. STATUS: Voted out of Asm Natural Resources Committee March 24, referred to Appropriations Committee.
SB 596 (Becker) SB 596 requires the Air Resources Board to establish a strategy to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the concrete and cement sector by 40% from 2019 levels by 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible, but no later than 2045. Per the latest science and rapidly worsening climate reality, The Climate Center is working to accelerate these goals. Read The Climate Center’s Letter of Support. STATUS: Set for April 12 hearing in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.
SB 612 (Portantino) Relates to Community Choice agencies (CCAs). This bill would help resolve some of the longstanding issues revolving around the power charge indifference adjustment that is charged to CCA customers as a separate fee, but that all ratepayers pay. The bill would ensure fair and equal access to the benefits of legacy resources held in investor-owned utility (IOU) portfolios and address the management of these resources to maximize value for all customers. Read The Climate Center’s Letter of Support. Read the Author’s Factsheet. STATUS: Set for April 26 hearing in the Sen. Energy Committee.
SB 617 (Wiener) This bill would require every city and county to implement an online, automated permitting platform that verifies code compliance and instantaneously issues permits for a residential solar-photovoltaic electricity system and an energy storage system paired with a residential solar-photovoltaic energy system. The bill also authorizes the California Energy Commission to provide technical assistance and grant funding to cities and counties in order to support the new requirements. Read The Climate Center’s Letter of Support. Read the Sponsor’s Fact Sheet. STATUS: Double-referred to Govt. & Finance and Energy Committees. Approved April 8 in Govt. & Finance Committee. Next step is the Senate Energy Committee.
Bills that The Climate Center is inclined to support, or support if amended
SB 67 (Becker) This bill aims to accelerate the state’s progress toward having 100% of electricity provided by renewable or other zero-carbon sources on a 24-hour, 7-day basis. STATUS: Set for April 26 hearing in the Senate Energy Committee.
SB 68 (Becker) Building decarbonization: This bill is aimed at helping the state achieve its climate and air pollution reduction goals in the building sector through actions such as reducing barriers to upgrading electrical service panels or accommodating additional electrical appliances within existing service panels. STATUS: Set for April 19 hearing in the Sen. Energy Committee.
SB 500 (Min) This bill prohibits the Department of Motor Vehicles from registering autonomous vehicles that are not a zero emission vehicles, beginning January 1, 2025.
Bills that The Climate Center is inclined to oppose, or oppose unless amended
[coming soon]
Bills that The Climate Center opposes
[coming soon]
Bills that The Climate Center is monitoring but for which we have not taken a public position
AB 11 (Ward) Existing law requires the Strategic Growth Council to establish and administer a regional climate collaborative program to assist under-resourced communities, as defined, in a region to access statewide public and other grant moneys, as specified, for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects. This bill would require the Council to establish up to 12 regional climate change authorities to coordinate climate adaptation and mitigation activities in their regions and coordinate with other regional climate adaptation authorities, state agencies, and other relevant stakeholders. STATUS Referred to Natural Resources Committee.
AB 21 (Bauer-Kahan) Existing law requires anyone that owners of electrical transmission or distribution lines on mountainous or forest-covered land, brush-covered land, or grass-covered land to maintain a firebreak between all vegetation and all conductors that are carrying electric current. This bill would impose a civil penalty of up to $100,000 for each violation of the above-described provisions and would impose an additional civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each acre burned by a fire resulting from a violation of the above-described provisions. The bill would also require 50% of the penalties collected to be deposited into a Utility Accountability and Wildfire Prevention Fund (Fund), which the bill would establish in the State Treasury, and would distribute the remaining 50%, as provided. The bill would provide that the moneys in the Fund are available for purposes of enhancing forest management, fire planning, wildfire prevention and suppression, and fire-related enforcement activities. STATUS: Approved March 24 in the Asm Natural Resources Committee, referred to Judiciary Committee.
AB 30 (Kalra) The State Urban Parks and Healthy Communities Act requires the Director of Parks and Recreation to develop a competitive grant program to assist state parks, specified state conservancies, urbanized and heavily urbanized local agencies, and community-based organizations within those jurisdictions to provide outdoor educational opportunities. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to subsequently enact legislation that would improve access to nature for all people in the state and provide for recreational and educational opportunities, with a specific emphasis on increasing access for economically disadvantaged communities. STATUS: Heard March 23 in the Asm. Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee. Re-referred to same committee.
AB 52 (Frazier) Pursuant to the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Act), this bill would require the Air Resources Board, in each scoping plan update prepared by the Board after January 1, 2022, to include, consistent with the Act, recommendations for achieving the maximum technologically feasible and cost-effective reductions of emissions of greenhouse gases and black carbon from wildfires. The bill would also express the intent of the Legislature to appropriate an amount from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund for wildfire mitigation and prevention. STATUS: Referred to Asm Natural Resources Committee.
AB 117 (Boerner-Horvath) The bill would create the Electric Bicycle Rebate Pilot Project and appropriate $10 million from the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) to the Air Resources Board for purposes of providing incentives for purchasing electric bicycles. STATUS: Passed unanimously out of April 5 hearing in the Assembly Transportation Committee, referred to Appropriations Committee.
AB 322 (Salas) This bill would require the California Energy Commission to allocate not less than 20% of the funds appropriated for the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) program to bioenergy projects for biomass conversion. STATUS: Double-referred to Asm. Energy and Natural Resources committees. Heard on March 18, amended, re-referred to Asm. Energy Committee. Approved April 7 in Asm Energy Committee.
AB 353 (O’Donnell). This bill removes a $300M cap on deposits into an existing Oil Trust Fund. Existing law established the Oil Trust Fund in the State Treasury to help finance the costs of well abandonment, pipeline removal, facility removal, remediation, and other costs associated with removal of oil and gas facilities from the Long Beach tidelands. Existing law prohibits the total amount deposited in the fund from exceeding $300M. This bill would delete the provisions relating to the limit on the total amount deposited in the fund. By increasing the amount of money that may be deposited into a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation. STATUS: Referred to Asm Natural Resources Committee.
AB 416 (Kalra) The Deforestation-Free Procurement Act aims to eliminate contracts for goods and services procured by California that result in deforestation. See author’s factsheet. STATUS: referred to Asm Accountability and Administrative Review Committee.
AB 427 (Bauer-Kahan) This is a “virtual power plant” bill. It allows load serving entities (LSEs) including CCAs, to count “negawatts” dispatchable via demand response (DR) programs as part of their resource adequacy (RA) obligation. It would require the CPUC to 1) Establish rules that allow DR programs and resources procured by an LSE to meet the LSE’s RA requirements regardless of whether the program is integrated into the wholesale market overseen by CAISO, 2) Adopt a baseline methodology that treats the charging of energy storage as load in baseline calculations for demand response programs, 3) Allow customer-sited distributed eligible renewable energy resources and energy storage systems participating in a demand response program, or product developed pursuant to #1 above, to deliver electricity to the grid for purposes of providing RA, and 4) establish a capacity valuation methodology for customer-sited energy storage resources and customer-sited hybrid resources, as defined, in consultation with CAISO and the CA Energy Commission, and ensure that the capacity valuation applies to DR resources coupled with customer-sited hybrid or customer-sited storage resources for the 2023 RA year. STATUS: Referred to Assembly Energy Committee.
AB 564 (Gonzalez, Kalra) This bill would establish the Biodiversity Protection and Restoration Act and would provide that it is the policy of the state that all state agencies, boards, and commissions shall utilize their authorities in furtherance of the biodiversity conservation purposes and goals of certain executive orders. The bill would require all state agencies, boards, and commissions to consider and prioritize the protection of biodiversity in carrying out their statutory mandates. The bill would require strategies related to the goal of the state to conserve at least 30% of California’s land and coastal waters by 2030 to be made available to the public and provided to certain legislative committees by no later than June 30, 2022. STATUS: Introduced.
AB 680 (Burke) This bill would enact the California Just Transition Act, which would require the Labor and Workforce Development Agency to work with the Air Resources Board to update the funding guidelines for administering agencies to ensure that all applicants to grant programs funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund meet specified standards, including fair and responsible employer standards and inclusive procurement policies, and give preference to applicants that demonstrate a partnership with an educational institution or training program targeting residents of disadvantaged, tribal, and low-income communities. STATUS: Approved April 8 in Asm Labor and Employment Committee. Referred to Natural Resources Committee.
AB 713 (C. Garcia) Would require state agencies to incorporate public health analyses into transportation policies, programs, and funding allocations. STATUS: Set for April 19 hearing in Asm Transportation Committee.
AB 843 (Aguiar-Curry) This is a bill that empowers Community Choice agencies (CCAs) to submit eligible bioenergy procurement contracts to the CPUC for cost recovery, as investor owned utilities (IOUs) are able to do. STATUS: Approved April 7 in Asm Energy Committee. Referred to Appropriations Committee.
AB 965 (Levine) This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development and the CPUC, by July 1, 2024, or the publication of the next interim California Building Code, whichever comes first, to research, develop, and propose building standards regarding the installation of future electric vehicle charging infrastructure for parking spaces for existing multifamily dwellings. Read the author’s FactSheet. STATUS: Set for April 29 hearing in the Asm. Housing and Community Development Committee.
AB 1139 (L. Gonzalez) This bill would abolish solar net energy metering in California. STATUS: Referred to Asm. Energy Committee.
AB 1395 (Muratsuchi) This bill would declare the policy of the state to achieve carbon neutrality as soon as possible, but no later than 2045, and to achieve and maintain net negative greenhouse gas emissions thereafter. STATUS: In the Asm Natural Resources Committee.
AB 1453 (Muratsuchi) This bill would establish a Just Transition Advisory Commission in the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and would require the Commission to develop a Just Transition Plan that contains recommendations to transition the state’s economy to a climate-resilient and low-carbon economy that maximizes the benefits of climate actions while minimizing burdens to workers, especially workers in the fossil fuel industry, and their communities, especially communities that face disproportionate burdens from pollution. The bill would require the Commission to submit the plan to the Legislature on or before January 1, 2024. The Commission would sunset in January 1, 2028 unless reauthorized. STATUS: In the Natural Resources Committee. No hearing date set.
AB 1500 (Eduardo Garcia) This bill would place a $6.7 billion “Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparation, Flood Protection, Extreme Heat Mitigation, and Workforce Development Bond Act of 2022” ballot measure on the November 8, 2022 general election ballot. That’s all. If approved by the voters, would authorize the issuance of bonds in the amount of $6,7 billion to finance projects for, well, safe drinking water, wildfire prevention, drought preparation, flood protection, extreme heat mitigation, and workforce development programs. STATUS: Double-referred to Asm Natural Resources and Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committees. Set for April 8 hearing in Asm Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.
SB 1 (Atkins) Addresses sea level rise. This bill would create within state government the California Sea Level Rise State and Regional Support Collaborative. STATUS: Set for April 19 hearing in Appropriations Committee.
SB 18 (Skinner) This is a bill that has several elements aimed at advancing green hydrogen in California. STATUS: Heard March 23 in the Senate Energy Committee. Read second time and amended. Referred to Environmental Quality Committee.
SB 25 (Hurtado) This purpose of this bill is to impose a requirement that costs to the oil & gas industry for complying with the law are compensated. Existing law authorizes CalGEM to regulate the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state and requires an operator proposing to perform a well stimulation treatment (fracking) to apply for a permit to perform the well stimulation treatment. Anyone who fails to comply with this and other requirements relating to the regulation of oil or gas operations is guilty of a misdemeanor. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact subsequent legislation to (1) strengthen the regulatory review process for well stimulation treatment projects to protect public health and safety, and the environment, while protecting the livelihoods of essential workers in the San Joaquin Valley, and (2) ensure that any jobs or economic activity affected by the strengthening of the regulatory review process for well stimulation treatment projects are fully compensated for, and retained, in order to ensure the employees and communities affected by these actions are not adversely affected. STATUS: Set for April 15 hearing in Nat. Resources Committee.
SB 44 (Allen) Would provide expedited judicial review of CEQA challenges for Environmental Leadership Transit Projects, which are defined as major public transit rail line infrastructure projects that meet certain sustainability standards and labor requirements. STATUS: Passed out of the Senate Env. Quality Committee on March 15, re-referred to and Judiciary committees.
SB 45 (Portantino, et al) Would establish the Wildfire Prevention, Safe Drinking Water, Drought Preparation, and Flood Protection Bond Act of 2022 with a $5.5 billion general obligation bond. STATUS: Triple-referred to Senate Natural Resources, Govt. & Finance, and Env. Quality committees. Set for April 15 hearing in Govt. & Finance Committee.
SB 83 (Allen) This bill would create the Sea Level Rise Revolving Loan Program within the I-Bank to provide low-interest loans to local jurisdictions for the purchase of coastal properties in their jurisdictions identified as vulnerable coastal property. STATUS: Heard March 16 in the Sen Natural Resources and Water Committee – referred to Sen. Govt & Finance Committee.
SB 84 (Hurtado) This bill is a reintroduced version of 2020’s SB 1012 by Hurtado, which The Climate Center opposed in 2021. SB 84 will unnecessarily make it more difficult and take longer to make oil & gas operators who are responsible for wells they owned and operated remediate and plug deserted oil & gas wells. STATUS: Amended March 23. Heard April 5 in the Senate Appropriations Committee. Ordered to third reading.
SB 204 (Dodd) This bill proposes to codify an existing reliability and emergency demand response program, known as the Base Interruptible Program (BIP). The bill would establish specified incentive requirements and conditions for the continued use of the program. STATUS: In Sen. Appropriations Committee.
SB 261 (Allen) This bill would: 1) Require that the sustainable communities strategy required by existing law under SB 375 be developed to additionally achieve GHG emission reduction targets for the automobile and light truck sector for 2045 and 2050 and vehicle miles traveled reduction targets for 2035, 2045, and 2050 established by the Air Resources Board and would make various conforming changes to integrate those additional targets into regional transportation plans; 2) Require the metropolitan planning organization to, at least 90 days before adopting a sustainable communities strategy, submit to the ARB for review a draft sustainable communities strategy, and to respond to any comments on the draft it receives from the state board; 3) Require that the sustainable communities strategy be submitted within 60 days of adoption. The bill would require the state board to reject the metropolitan planning organization’s determination that the strategy submitted would achieve the greenhouse gas emission vehicle miles traveled reduction targets if it determines that certain criteria are met; 4) Require each city, county, or city and county to biennially report to its metropolitan planning organization the number of housing and jobs, and transit supportive infrastructure, existing and planned, that demonstrates implementation of strategies included in the applicable sustainable communities strategy. STATUS: In the Transportation Committee. No hearing date set.
SB 267 (Hertzberg). The bill addresses tax benefits and ownership of existing solar energy systems in “partnership flips.” STATUS: In Appropriations Committee.
SB 423 (Stern) This bill would build on 2018’s SB 100 (de León) and require the Air Resources Board and Energy Commission to, among other things, incorporate emerging renewable energy and firm zero-carbon resources into its energy and resource planning processes. STATUS: Referred to Se. Energy Committee.
SB 533 (Stern) This bill has bearing on CCAs. It also relates to wildfire mitigation plans, deenergization events, and microgrids. Among other things, it calls for the establishment of a methodology to account for the resource adequacy value of distributed storage, and for the creation of a critical facility and infrastructure database. STATUS: Set for an April 19 hearing in the Senate Energy Committee.
SB 643 (Archuleta) This bill would create a working group to prepare a statewide assessment of the fuel cell electric vehicle fueling infrastructure and fuel production needed to support the adoption of zero-emission trucks, buses, and off-road vehicles at levels necessary for the state to meet specified goals and requirements relating to vehicular air pollution. STATUS: Approved April 12 in the Env. Quality Committee. Referred to Transportation Committee.
SB 662 (Archuleta) Green hydrogen targets. STATUS: Set for April 12 hearing in the Senate Energy Committee.
SB 730 (Bradford) This bill has bearing on Community Choice agencies (CCAs). Requires that demand response products and tariffs required within the resource adequacy program be cost effective. STATUS: Introduced.
2021 bills that have died:
SB 467 (Wiener, Limón) This bill will halt the issuance or renewal of permits for hydraulic fracturing (fracking), acid well stimulation treatments, cyclic steaming, and water and steam flooding starting January 1, 2022. Further, SB 467 will restrict all new or modified permits for oil and gas production within 2,500 feet of any residences, schools, healthcare facilities or long-term care institutions such as dormitories or prisons by January 1, 2022. Nearly 7.5 million Californians, mostly low income and including many Black, Indigenous, and people of color, live within one mile of an oil or gas well at a great cost to their health. Download the author’s FACTSHEET. STATUS: Double-referred to Natural Resources and Env. Quality Committees. Failed on April 13 in the Natural Resources Committee. Vote results: Ayes: Allen, Laird, Limón, Stern; Noes: Eggman, Grove, Jones; NVR (no vote recorded (means no)): Hertzberg, Hueso
