On August 20, 2025, the Assembly Utilities and Energy, Natural Resources, and Transportation Committees held a joint hearing on how to further an equitable transition from fossil fuels to clean transportation fuels.
The following testimony was given to the committees by Allison Hilliard, Legislative Manager for The Climate Center:
We need bold, equitable action to reduce California’s reliance on gasoline. That means investing in electric vehicles, boosting fuel imports to increase competition, and supporting a just transition for fossil fuel workers and communities. We support the Union of Concerned Scientists’ proposal to allow voluntary use of conventional U.S. gasoline in place of California’s special blend if fuel sellers contribute to a mitigation fund that would be used to help the drivers of older, more polluting cars upgrade to an electric vehicle. We believe it provides the state with more flexibility in stabilizing supply and drives down demand. We also support the resupply rule and the ABX2-1 fuel supply storage proposal, as well as existing statutory protections for communities and the environment. We are opposed to blanket California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemptions for oil drilling.
We thank our colleagues in the climate and environmental justice movements for putting together this letter in response to the July 15 draft package and note that we are signed on in support of their letter. Thank you for your consideration.
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