Region: California
SB 827 and the Concept of Deregulation
When land-use deregulation gets characterized as regulation, and why
Perhaps the biggest topic in land-use law and housing affordability in California over the past couple of months has been a piece of legislation introduced by State Senator Wiener, SB 827. Ethan has blogged quite a bit about the bill – the basic concept of the legislation is to eliminate or significantly restrict a number …
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CONTINUE READINGLessons From the University of California’s Carbon Neutrality Initiative
New Pritzker Brief Highlights Barriers to, Recommendations for, Getting to Zero Carbon Emissions by 2025
In 2013, University of California President Janet Napolitano announced that the system’s ten campuses and its central office would cut their carbon emissions to zero by 2025. The goal is one of the most ambitious organizational goals in the country. To help implement the Carbon Neutrality Initiative, the President appointed a Global Climate Leadership Council …
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CONTINUE READINGRegister Now: Toward Zero-Emission Freight At Southern California’s Ports
Free daylong conference at UCLA on Friday, June 8th will examine the prospects, pitfalls & policy needs
The Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach bring more goods into the U.S. than any other ports in the country. Yet together the ports are the single largest source of air pollution in Southern California. Harbor commissioners have adopted an ambitious plan to transition to cleaner fuels for goods movement in and around the …
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CONTINUE READINGThe Whittling Of SB 827 Begins
First Significant Amendments Released to Landmark Bill That Would Allow More Homes Near Transit
California State Senator Scott Wiener’s SB 827, which would relax local restrictions on housing adjacent to transit, is a revolutionary step in the history of California land use. The initial version of the bill was clearly an opening salvo, reflecting a general statewide principle that locals should no longer squash housing in prime transit areas, …
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CONTINUE READINGUnited States v. California and SB 50
Federal lawsuit against California’s law to protect federal public lands may not be an easy win
Monday the federal government filed a lawsuit against the state of California challenging SB 50, a state law that attempts to give the state the ability to purchase federal public lands that are sold or disposed of. The lawsuit has gotten a lot of attention in the press, some with assessments that the federal government’s …
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CONTINUE READINGWhy California gets to write its own auto emissions standards: 5 questions answered
Authored by Nicholas Bryner and Meredith Hankins
Rush hour on the Hollywood Freeway, Los Angeles, September 9, 2016. AP Photo/Richard Vogel This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Editor’s note: On April 2, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the Trump administration plans to revise tailpipe emissions standards negotiated by the Obama administration for motor …
CONTINUE READINGGuest Blogger Ken Alex: California’s Global Climate Action Summit, September 12-14, 2018
The Final Post in a Series on California Climate Policy by Ken Alex, Senior Policy Advisor to Gov. Jerry Brown
[This is the final post in a series expressing my view of why California’s actions on climate change are so important and how they will change the world. The introductory post provides an overview and some general context.] Under the Paris Agreement, countries must evaluate progress towards their nationally determined commitments to reduce emissions every five years, …
CONTINUE READINGGuest Blogger Ken Alex: Climate Solutions
Post #12 in a Series on California Climate Policy by Ken Alex, Senior Policy Advisor to Gov. Jerry Brown
[This is the second-to-last post in a series expressing my view of why California’s actions on climate change are so important and how they will change the world. The introductory post provides an overview and some general context.] As discussed in the previous blog posts, through the ARB Scoping Plan, the 5 pillars of climate action set …
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CONTINUE READINGFifty States, Fifty Energy Policies
New report provides a snapshot of renewable energy growth across the country.
The federal government gets all the headlines, but state governments control much of energy policy. They control local utilities and set policies on renewable energy. But because so many jurisdictions are involved, it’s hard to get an overall picture of what’s really happening. I’ve been trying to get at least a rough sense of what’s …
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CONTINUE READINGGuest Blogger Ken Alex: California and Sub-National Action
Post #11 in a Series on California Climate Policy by Ken Alex, Senior Policy Advisor to Gov. Jerry Brown
[This is the eleventh post in a series expressing my view of why California’s actions on climate change are so important and how they will change the world. The introductory post provides an overview and some general context.] In 2015, about a year and a half before the international climate meetings in Paris, Jerry Brown met with …
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