The California Legislature Halftime Report
In a year defined by affordability and climate crises, several bills aimed to alleviate pressures on both fronts are advancing in the Legislature.
Thank you for joining me for the California Legislature Halftime Report, it is an exciting time of change with many updates to share. A new Senate President pro Tempore was just selected. I’m pleased to share that it is Senator Monique Limón (District 21), who I am personally pleased about this because she is my representative and she has done a remarkable job for our community and our state, but most importantly for this post, it is wonderful news because Senator Lim...
CONTINUE READINGThe Most Important Law Most People Have Never Heard Of
Here’s how the APA bolsters the rule of law and protects the environment.
Seventy-nine years ago, President Harry Truman signed a law that, to this day, most Americans have never heard of. Even the title of the law — the Administrative Procedure Act or APA — is a guaranteed yawner. Yet this law is central to the rule of law and, among other things, to environmental protection. We are learning from the current Administration’s efforts to evade the APA just how important it is. Administrative procedure is a complicated subject that ...
CONTINUE READINGWhy Do Heat Pumps Have a Bad Rap? Lies
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
I just listened to dozens of people tell me that heat pumps don’t work, may cause homelessness, and can bankrupt small businesses. This was shocking news to me, in no small part because I’m currently in the process of installing a heat pump in my condo. Obviously, I don’t want to waste money, sleep on the street, or see my local bakery go belly up. Should I call up my contractor and tell him we are sticking with our 1960s gas furnace? No, of course not. This...
CONTINUE READINGCan Trump Save U.S. Coal? Not likely.
“Beautiful clean coal”, as Trump calls it, is inexorably declining.
On May 23, the Trump Administration issued an emergency order to keep a coal-fired power plant open, even though the owner and the state utility commission both wanted to close it. That’s in line with Administration policy. The title of one of Trump’s executive orders is “Reinvigorating America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Industry.” That order says, “it is the policy of the United States that coal is essential to our national and economic security.” But Trum...
CONTINUE READINGWhy Did SoCal Air Regulators Reject Clean Air Rules?
SCAQMD’s failure to pass Rules 1111 and 1121 on water heaters and furnaces is a win for gas industry disinformation and a loss for public health.
After 6 hours of public comment and discussion in a packed auditorium, Southern California air quality regulators on Friday rejected a pair of proposals that would have reduced harmful pollution from gas furnaces and water heaters. I watched a livestream of the 6-hour meeting (and provided live updates and commentary on Bluesky). Here’s context and what led up to these public health measures failing. The South Coast Air Quality Management District Board (SCAQM...
CONTINUE READINGCould CA Local Agencies Replicate Past Federal Solicitation Approaches?
Innovative solicitation & contracting approaches may make offshore wind infrastructure projects work better for communities
Offshore wind is a nascent industry in California, and actions by the new federal administration are threatening to slow or halt the significant progress made in recent years. Despite these new federal policies, however, state and local leaders are planning infrastructure needed to launch the sector in California, including port facilities suitable for assembling and storing massive offshore wind turbines. Some of these infrastructure projects might present opportunities...
CONTINUE READINGPay to Play
The reconciliation bill has a new approach to try and change substantive law
I posted earlier about a provision in the House reconciliation bill that attempts to effectively repeal NEPA by allowing sponsors of projects to pay a fee to avoid any judicial review of NEPA documents. That provision is not unique, and indeed it looks like House Republicans are trying to develop a new tool to use reconciliation (which can avoid a Senate filibuster) to alter substantive law. Similar pay to play provisions exist elsewhere in the bill. For instance,...
CONTINUE READINGReconciliation and public lands
Most changes would be to the leasing process for oil and gas development and reflect a partisan response to ping-pong governance
As the Senate takes up the House’s version of the reconciliation bill, I wanted to briefly summarize the main provisions that relate to public lands – in part so readers can be aware of the state of play as to what might (or might not) come to pass in the Senate. The bill as passed by the House can be found here. Overall, most of the relevant provisions relate to leases for fossil fuel development, particularly oil and gas. Some other provisions are part of lo...
CONTINUE READINGGiving Away the National Parks?
Another Trump Administration idea that probably requires Congressional action, and thus probably won’t happen
Another national park idea the Trump Administration had recently was to offload hundreds of national parks to states and local governments, in order to trim $900 million from the Park Service budget. The proposal is spare on details, only calling for the “transfer [of] certain properties to State-level management.” Secretary of the Interior Burgum stated that only about 60 “crown jewel” parks would be off of the list for potential transfer. As the article n...
CONTINUE READINGThe Rock
Public lands law stands in the way of Trump’s proposal to reopen Alcatraz
About a month ago, President Trump floated the idea of reopening the federal prison at Alcatraz. The prison has been closed for decades, and it is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, managed by the National Park Service, and a major tourist attraction. While a lot of the press coverage focused on the cost and practical feasibility of Trump’s proposal, I want to highlight a legal barrier. As part of the Golden Gate National Recreational Area, Al...
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