Environment California’s priority clean energy bills reach the Assembly and Senate floors

Several key energy bills passed through the Senate and Assembly Appropriations committees last week that would help California restore rooftop solar incentives for schools and farms, go big on offshore wind, upgrade our power grid to allow for more clean energy transmission, reduce global warming pollution from our industrial sector, and make polluters pay for the damage they cause to the environment and California’s communities.

Below are Environment California’s priority clean energy bills that have passed through legislative Appropriations committees and now await a full floor vote in the Senate or Assembly.

Standing up for solar

• SB 1374 (Becker)- Support. SB 1374 would allow properties with multiple electric meters like schools, farms and government buildings to self-consume the energy they produce from on-site solar panels in the same way as single family homeowners, allowing for greater bill savings and better incentivizing solar installations on these buildings.

Going big on offshore wind

• Include $1 billion for port infrastructure in a climate bond. To go big on offshore wind, we must invest in seaport infrastructure. We can make a significant initial investment by including $1 billion in a state climate bond for port infrastructure to support offshore wind development. This will complement recent federal funding and help spur further strategies to secure public and private investment to meet all $11 billion to $12 billion worth of necessary port upgrades in California. 
• AB 2537 (Addis)- Support. AB 2537 would enhance the ability of local communities and Tribes to actively participate in California’s offshore wind development process by establishing a Capacity Building Fund through a tax on offshore wind leaseholders. The bill will allow for more thoughtful offshore wind development that will help California overcome barriers to going big on offshore wind.

Unlocking the grid with more efficient power lines

• SB 1006 (Padilla)- Support. SB 1006, sponsored by Environment California, would require utilities to produce a grid-enhancing technologies strategic plan and an evaluation of which power lines can be reconductored with advanced reconductors to cost-effectively increase transmission capacity and allow California to connect new renewable energy capacity and zero-carbon resources to the grid.
• AB 3246 (Garcia)- Support. AB 3246 would allow utilities to pursue advanced reconductoring of existing power lines through a streamlined process, allowing for easier upgrades to increase transmission capacity of existing grid infrastructure.
• AB 2779 (Petrie-Norris)- Support. AB 2779 would require the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) to report to the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and relevant legislative policy committees any new use of grid enhancing technologies and the cost or efficiency savings of deploying that technology. 

Reducing global warming pollution

• AB 2083 (Berman)- Support. AB 2083 would require the California Energy Commission (CEC) to assess the potential for the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the industrial manufacturing sector by at least 85% below 1990 levels by 2045, and to report on energy emissions at industrial facilities starting in the state’s 2027 integrated energy policy report.

Making polluters pay

• Eliminate fossil fuel subsidies. California must end tax subsidies for the oil and gas industry and use those funds instead to advance climate priorities. For example, the Water’s Edge Election loophole allows oil companies to avoid paying their fair share of taxes by hiding profits in offshore tax havens. Eliminating this tax break alone could result in up to billions in recovered funds for environmental programs.
• AB 1866 (Hart)- Support. AB 1866 would require oil and gas well operators to start plugging a significant portion of their idle wells each year, and require the largest companies to plug and clean up 20% of their idle wells annually.
• AB 3155 (Friedman)- Support. AB 3155 would create a presumption of liability against oil companies that operate wells within 3,200 feet of a home, hospital, or school when a resident develops certain cancers, respiratory ailments or reproductive issues. The oil company must prove that it did not cause harm to people who live near the well, and they can rebut the presumption if they use the best commercially available technology to reduce risk to nearby communities.
• SB 252 (Gonzalez)- Support. SB 252 would prohibit the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTERS) from investing in the 200 largest publicly traded fossil fuel companies, and have them divest any current holdings in these companies by 2031.
• SB 1497 (Menjivar)- Support. SB 1497 would establish a Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Program that assesses a fee to companies that polluted at least 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from 2000 to 2020. The fund would advance projects and programs to mitigate, adapt or respond to the damages caused by climate change in California.