Legislation

California Can Protect Climate Policies—and Pocketbooks

California flag and Capitol.

Lawmakers can use climate policies to alleviate some cost burdens. They should also resist the narrative that climate progress is driving affordability concerns.

Affordability is the name of the game at the California Legislature this session, with leaders in both the Assembly and the Senate talking explicitly about cost of living. But legislators’ focus on bringing costs down for average Californians doesn’t need to come at the expense of forward-thinking climate policy. Here are a few things legislators …

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Yes, Virginia, There ARE Federal Climate Laws.

An image of the U.S. Capitol Building in the evening.

Contrary to myth, Congress has actually passed laws relating directly to climate change.

It’s a common misconception that Congress has never passed any climate change legislation. But Congresshas passed at least laws regulating two powerful greenhouse gases, as well as a series of other laws stretching back almost forty years. The story begins under President Nixon and extends into the Biden years with the multi-billion dollar Inflation Reduction Act.

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NEPA in the Supreme Court (Part II)

Here’s why the Supreme Court should reject radical arguments for limiting environmental impact statements.

Our last post explained the background of the Seven Counties NEPA case, which is currently pending in the Supreme Court.  Today, we discuss the radical arguments that have been made in the case and why they should be rejected. NEPA requires that agencies consider the environmental effects of their projects, but the petitioners raise hairsplitting arguments to exclude obvious effects due to technicalities. Pleas for revising the law should be made to Congress, not to the Supreme Court.

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No More ‘House of Horrors’ Thanks to These New Laws

Several California laws prohibiting dangerous chemicals from household products go into effect on or after January 1, 2025.

Halloween is the one time when we welcome ghouls, ghosts, and goblins coming to our homes (and, if your neighborhood is anything like mine, a variety of tiny superheroes). This season, however, the Legislature is dealing with a different kind of house of horrors: dangerous chemicals in everyday products that affect millions of Californians’ health. …

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New Environmental Laws Focus on Public Health

Many of the environmental-focused bills that the governor signed this year involve ways to alleviate the health disparities faced by frontline communities.

The California State Legislature is now finally in its off-season. Governor Newsom had until Monday, September 30th to sign or veto bills that the legislature passed and sent to his desk. In a final tally of bills, according to CalMatters, Governor Newsom vetoed approximately 18% of the nearly 1,000 bills that landed on his desk …

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We Need a Circular Economy for EV Batteries

California got close to making suppliers ensure EV batteries are managed responsibly at end of life. Here’s why 2025 should be the year California creates a circular economy for EV batteries.

California continues to make significant headway toward its target to eliminate in-state sales of new internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035. About one in five new cars sold in California are battery-powered. And it’s not just California: Battery-powered car sales are up globally, with projections showing 17 million will be sold worldwide in 2024. As …

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Climate, Energy, and Environment on the Ballot

Ballot measures in Washington and California are especially important but others are worth noting.

The two biggest state initiatives are a $10 billion green bond proposal in California and a proposed rollback of Washington State’s new cap-and-trade program.  The outcomes of these and other initiatives will provide a barometer of public sentiment on environmental issues.

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SB 1221 is Law. Time for Targeted Neighborhood Electrification.

This new California law will help build pilot programs for up to 30 neighborhood decarbonization zones to transition off gas.

Governor Newsom recently signed a bill (SB 1221) that lays the groundwork for a vital shift in California’s clean energy transition. The bill– by Senator Dave Min, with support from key decarbonization advocates–will create a pilot program at the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to designate up to 30 “neighborhood decarbonization zone” projects. In these …

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Governor Newsom Should Veto These Four Bills

Four seemingly modest bills — AB 1122, AB 1296, AB 637 and AB 3179 — are sneaky legislative efforts to threaten California’s world-leading clean transportation investments.

This post was co-authored by Ruben Aronin, Principal of the Better World Group. With just weeks to go before November 5, all eyes are on the election, including what it means for environmental policy. And yet, one of the largest threats to California’s clean transportation leadership in recent history has materialized right under our noses …

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The Contract with America

Or, as some critics called it, “the Contract ON America.”

The Contract with America was the brainchild of Newt Gingrich. It was a turning point in American politics: moving the GOP from compromise to confrontation, nationalizing what had previously been locally oriented House races, and shifting the GOP far to the right. There’s a reason they call Gingrich the man who broke Congress.

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