Legislation
Two Wins from this Legislative Session — Awaiting Newsom
As Gov. Gavin Newsom’s term ends, these two bills present an opportunity to promote ratepayer affordability.
It’s September, and that means another legislative session has come to an end here in California. With it came some welcome news for those of us who have been following California’s efforts to avoid wasteful spending on new natural gas infrastructure. Two important bills, AB 2313 (Berman) and SB 1359 (Stern), both passed the legislature …
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CONTINUE READINGEl Niño is Coming. Californians Still Need Better Tools to Recover from Disaster.
AB 2385 would have helped local governments prepare for disaster recovery, but the bill failed to make it out of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Last week, AB 2385 (Petrie-Norris) died in the California Senate Appropriations Committee. Its demise is the latest frustration in the long saga to rebuild from the terrible January 2025 Los Angeles fires—and to apply some lessons learned about disaster recovery in the process. I’ve had a front row seat, as both an Angeleno and a …
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CONTINUE READINGClimate at SCOTUS, Electrification Victories, Media Moves
The Drain is a regular roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
It’s not every year that climate change looms large at the U.S. Supreme Court, but it will this coming term. The Supreme Court will begin its 2026-2027 term with a case brought by a Colorado county seeking millions of dollars from oil and gas companies for their role in exacerbating climate change. The justices announced recently …
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CONTINUE READINGScience Wins A Skirmish
The Senate’s Continuing Resolution Blocks Russ Vought’s Odious Politicization of Science — Temporarily
Thank heaven for small favors: Senators on the Appropriations Committee on Sunday released a stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown by Oct. 1 and temporarily block a White House proposal that would fundamentally change how the federal government awards and manages grants. In late May, the Office of Management and Budget released …
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CONTINUE READINGWhich way is the wind blowing in wind energy litigation?
The latest court decisions and legal challenges are shaping the future of wind energy development across the United States
Guest contributor Adelaide Duckett, Legal Fellow at the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center at NYU School of Law Across the country, wind developers and state governments are successfully navigating new legal challenges facing wind energy, fighting to keep projects moving forward despite mounting obstacles. Hostility to wind development has manifested in various ways …
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CONTINUE READINGPlug-In Solar Bills are Taking State Legislatures By Storm
Chances are your state legislature is considering a bill to authorize plug-in solar panels for your balcony or backyard.
It’s worth taking notice when any clean energy legislation is passing with bipartisan support in all kinds of states. Bills on balcony solar, also called plug-in solar, have been signed or moved forward in so many states around the country that it’s probably easier to name the 16 or 17 states that are NOT working …
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CONTINUE READINGCPUC Proposed Decision Risks Derailing Gas Transition
California passed a promising Neighborhood Decarbonization Program. The CPUC’s plan for implementing SB 1221 sets it up to fail.
My UCLA colleagues and I have written extensively on the promising opportunity for SB 1221 to help interested communities transition off gas. Now, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has released its long-awaited proposed decision on its plans to implement the SB 1221 pilot program, and the proposal is…disappointing. The current design seems to set the program up to fail. Of biggest concern, the decision proposes to require pilot applicants to navigate a multi-stage process with duplicative …
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CONTINUE READINGStatutory Language? Who Cares About Statutory Language?
A new DOE guidance seems flatly contrary to the statute it’s acting under.
The Department of Energy has issued new guidance that cuts off rebates for people who replace a gas furnace with a heat pump. Under the new guidance, the rebate will be allowed only if the heat pump replaces an electric furnace. Unless I’m missing something, the statute creating the program says the exact opposite. I suppose maybe at this stage I should find this blithe lack of concern for legality unsurprising. Maybe I haven’t adjusted to the Trump era as much as I’d thought. The rebate program specifically covers “any “project that includes [among other things] … the purchase or installation … of an electric heat pump … to replace a nonelectric appliance.”
One Big Loser in the California Primary is Already Clear
The Drain is a weekly roundup of environmental and climate news from Legal Planet.
The stakes are high for climate and energy policy in California’s primary election. In the gubernatorial race, we’ll either get a real runoff between a billionaire climate progressive and a moderate Democrat with big corporate backing OR, more likely, we’ll get to watch that moderate Dem do a cake walk against a Republican. The governor’s …
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CONTINUE READINGCan Sustainability Be Abundant, Safe, and Affordable?
Read and watch key takeaways from the UCLA Emmett Institute’s 2026 symposium on climate policy and affordability.
This month, the UCLA Emmett Institute explored the intersection of climate goals, affordability concerns, and environmental protections by hosting a symposium titled “Can Abundance Be Sustainable?” The all-day, public event at UCLA School of Law brought together academics, community advocates, policymakers, journalists, students and—not one but two—heads of utility regulatory bodies. The goal was to think deeply about the path …
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