As we had previously reported and expected Governor Gavin Newsom this week signed his climate package of bills which he proposed late in the legislative session, and a number of other climate bills that had been part of our tracking list this session. The new laws will now require the state to become carbon-neutral by 2045, produce 90% of its electricity from clean sources by 2035, create safety zones around oil wells near homes, and draft rules to fast-track permitting of technology that aim to remove carbon from the air.
Newsom proudly stated at a press conference on Friday in Vallejo that “We were able to advance not just our ideals, but this cause during the most extreme test that this state has ever faced, and we’re proud of that,” Newsom said, referring to the extreme heat wave that shattered thousands of records statewide and brought the grid within megawatts of rolling blackouts.
The package signed by Newsom, totaling 40 pieces of legislation, includes measures on electric vehicles, transmission infrastructure, water, and emissions.
Among the most major are laws requiring the state to get the entire economy carbon neutral by 2045, generate enough renewable energy to cover 90 percent of needs by 2035 and 95 percent by 2040, and streamline permitting for carbon removal and storage projects.
While Newsom’s actions represent a significant victory, the fight between environmentalists and the oil and gas industry is far from over, given that many of the laws punt to the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the air agency already working on a major plan to bring emissions down by midcentury. The agency is already facing intense lobbying as it works to finish the report by the end of the year.
Newsom: “This month has been a wake-up call for all of us that later is too late to act on climate change. California isn’t waiting anymore. Together with the Legislature, California is taking the most aggressive action on climate our nation has ever seen. We’re cleaning the air we breathe, holding the big polluters accountable, and ushering in a new era for clean energy. That’s climate action done the California Way – and we’re not only doubling down, but we’re also just getting started.”
State Senator John Laird: “If we talked about having this ceremony a year ago, I think none of us in the legislature would have thought it was possible.”
Newsom also committed more than $54 billion to address climate change as he heads to Climate Week in New York City. The full set of bills the Governor signed that work toward achieving the state’s climate goals include:
- AB 1384 (Gabriel) – Resiliency Through Adaptation, Economic Vitality, and Equity Act of 2022.
- AB 1389 (Gómez Reyes) – Clean Transportation Program: project funding preferences.
- AB 1749 (Cristina Garcia) – Community emissions reduction programs: toxic air contaminants and criteria air pollutants.
- AB 1757 (Cristina Garcia) – California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: climate goal: natural and working lands.
- AB 1857 (Cristina Garcia) – Solid waste.
- AB 1909 (Friedman) – Vehicles: bicycle omnibus bill.
- AB 1985 (Rivas) – Organic waste: recovered organic waste product procurement targets.
- AB 2061 (Ting) – Transportation electrification: electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
- AB 2075 (Ting) – Energy: electric vehicle charging standards.
- AB 2108 (Rivas) – Water policy: environmental justice: disadvantaged and tribal communities.
- AB 2204 (Horvath) – Clean energy: Labor and Workforce Development Agency: Deputy Secretary for Climate.
- AB 2278 (Kalra) – Natural resources: biodiversity and conservation report.
- AB 2316 (Ward) – Public Utilities Commission: customer renewable energy subscription programs and the community renewable energy program.
- AB 2440 (Irwin) – Responsible Battery Recycling Act of 2022.
- AB 2446 (Holden) – Embodied carbon emissions: construction materials.
- AB 2622 (Mullin) – Sales and use taxes: exemptions: California Hybrid and Zero-Emission Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project: transit buses.
- AB 2700 (McCarty) – Transportation electrification: electrical distribution grid upgrades.
- AB 2836 (Eduardo Garcia) – Carl Moyer Memorial Air Quality Standards Attainment Program: vehicle registration fees: California tire fee.
- SB 379 (Wiener) – Residential solar energy systems: permitting.
- SB 529 (Hertzberg) – Electricity: electrical transmission facilities.
- SB 887 (Becker) – Electricity: transmission facility planning.
- SB 1010 (Skinner) – Air pollution: state vehicle fleet.
- SB 1063 (Skinner) – Energy: appliance standards and cost-effective measures.
- SB 1075 (Skinner) – Hydrogen: green hydrogen: emissions of greenhouse gases.
- SB 1109 (Caballero) – California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program: bioenergy projects.
- SB 1145 (Laird) – California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: greenhouse gas emissions: dashboard.
- SB 1158 (Becker) – Retail electricity suppliers: emissions of greenhouse gases.
- SB 1203 (Becker) – Net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases: state agency operations.
- SB 1205 (Allen) – Water rights: appropriation.
- SB 1215 (Newman) – Electronic Waste Recycling Act of 2003: covered battery-embedded products.
- SB 1230 (Limόn) – Zero-emission and near-zero-emission vehicle incentive programs: requirements.
- SB 1251 (Gonzalez) – Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development: Zero-Emission Vehicle Market Development Office: Zero-Emission Vehicle Equity Advocate.
- SB 1291 (Archuleta) – Hydrogen-fueling stations: administrative approval.
- SB 1314 (Limόn) – Oil and gas: Class II injection wells: enhanced oil recovery.
- SB 1322 (Allen) – Energy: petroleum pricing.
- SB 1382 (Gonzalez) – Air pollution: Clean Cars 4 All Program: Sales and Use Tax Law: zero emissions vehicle exemption.
- AB 2251 (Calderon) – Urban forestry: statewide strategic plan.
- SB 1174 (Hertzberg) – Electricity: eligible renewable energy or energy storage resources: transmission and interconnection.
As a reminder, the bills that were specific to Newsom’s climate package that was proposed late in the session are as follow:
- AB 1279 (Muratsuchi) will put into state law the existing policy goal of reaching statewide “carbon neutrality” by 2045.
- SB 1020 (Laird) will set benchmarks that the state electric grid has to hit before sourcing all of its power from renewable sources by 2045.
- SB 905 (Caballero) will require the Air Resources Board to develop regulations for projects that capture, reuse and store carbon emissions.
- SB 1137 (Gonzalez) will ban the drilling of any new oil and gas wells within 3,200 feet of homes, schools, nursing homes, and hospitals, effectively banning the activity from most developed areas in the state
For the full text of the bills, visit: http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov