Legislation

States May Be Warming to Green Amendments

At least 10 states, including New Jersey and California, are considering constitutional guarantees to a clean environment and stable climate after Montana’s landmark climate trial.   

Last week, New Jersey lawmakers and a variety of stakeholders crammed into a statehouse committee room for a relatively rare legislative hearing. This 2-hour hearing centered on New Jersey’s proposed green amendment, which committee chair Senator Bob Smith described as “a very controversial topic” as he gaveled in the meeting. This green amendment would add …

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Deciphering NEPA 2.0

Here’s everything you wanted to know about the “New NEPA” but were afraid to ask.

NEPA was long an island of legal stability, standing almost unamended for over a half century.  Then in the summer of 2023, everything changed.  As a rider on the agreement to raise the debt ceiling, Congress extensively rewrote and expanded NEPA, gifting us with a new statutory regime.  As I’ve written before — and discuss …

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The SEC’s Watered-Down Climate Rule

Now that the SEC has approved its limited climate disclosure rule, the spotlight is back on California’s more stringent disclosure laws that still need backing.

After months of discussion, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to adopt climate reporting standards that will mandate publicly-traded companies disclose some of their greenhouse gas emissions. The SEC’s rule was proposed way back in 2022, and the initial draft would have required companies to disclose their “Scope 3” supply chain emissions, …

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California’s Climate Leadership: A Timeline

California embraced climate action 2002 and has never looked back since.

The Golden State has adopted a slew of climate change laws over the past twenty years, and an even greater number of regulations .  To help you keep track, here is a timeline of California’s most important actions. 2002    SB1078. California established first renewable portfolio standard (20% from renewables by 2010). AB 1493 (Pavley …

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New Bill Targets Carbon Dioxide Pipeline Leaks

A sign warning of a CO2 pipeline.

Legislation introduced by Assemblymember Arambula, with research help from UCLA students, aims to protect Californians from the dangers of transporting captured carbon dioxide.

Guest contributor Jennifer Imm is a J.D. Candidate at UCLA Law (2L) Last week, Assemblymember Dr. Joaquin Arambula introduced AB 2623, a bill designed to guard California communities against the dangers of transporting carbon dioxide in pipelines. These risks aren’t hypothetical: A leak from a carbon dioxide pipeline already caused serious health harms in Satartia, …

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I ♥ IRA

Yes, the IRA has flaws. But it was a really unexpected breakthrough for US climate policy.

Call me eccentric, but this is my Valentine to a federal statute, the Inflation Reduction Act, better known as the IRA. No one really expected IRA to pass. A version of the Green New Deal had passed the House. But the Democrats had only a one-vote margin in the Senate, and that one vote was …

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More Unforced Errors in the 2023 NEPA Amendments

Bluntly speaking, the statute is a mess.

When the 2023 amendments to NEPA passed as part of the debt ceiling bill, I wrote a series of blog posts about the drafting errors. It turns out that I missed some, as I discovered when working on the new edition of my environmental law casebook.  They really aren’t all that subtle, and it’s hard …

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The Statutory EIS Process: A Primer

Last year, Congress tried to codify NEPA law. Here’s how the process is supposed to work.  

Because NEPA’s discussion of environmental impact statements (EIS) was very brief, the requirements and procedures were elaborated by courts and  guidance from a White House office. That changed in 2023, because  much of the subject is now covered explicitly by new statutory language.. Thus, NEPA is a bit less of a “common law” subject than …

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7 Reasons California Should Get Tougher on Methane from Dairies

A dairy cow

California lawmakers should rethink the role of dairy digesters in the state’s dairy and livestock mitigation strategy.

Even though California aims to decrease the emissions of methane, dairy operations are rewarded for creating, and capturing, more and more of the planet-warming super pollutant in the form of manure-derived biogas. Today, California lawmakers declined to correct that perverse incentive, but they still have opportunities to rethink the state’s embrace of digesters as its …

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The Year Ahead in California Climate Laws

Facing a $37.9 billion deficit, California’s 2024 legislative session is likely to be about minor fixes, cleanup bills, and the ballot box. Plus: Will 2023’s disclosure bills get funded?

  Though I do not have a crystal ball — wish I did! — there are some clear markers we can evaluate to foresee environmental priorities, and possibilities, as we start another exciting year in the California Legislature.   The California Legislature kicked off the 2024 session on January 3 with notable changes in leadership. Robert Rivas, who …

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