Photo: Gage Skidmore
After a fruitful 2023 state legislative session, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 7 signed every major climate and clean energy bill that came to his desk. They included bills that will speed the way to powering California with 100% clean energy, clear the path for offshore wind power, open up highways to solar infrastructure, renew clean transportation funding and hold oil companies accountable for their messes. Environment California had sponsored five of those bills, led campaigns on several more and organized public and legislative support for all of them.
“With today’s action, Gov. Newsom cements California’s climate leadership. As one of the biggest economies in the world, what we do here matters beyond our borders,” said Laura Deehan, Environment California’s state director. “California has set ambitious climate goals but getting there requires innovative thinking, willingness to take risks and action to jump-start clean energy in the face of staunch opposition from entrenched interests. Our Legislature and governor have come through on all those counts. Now, it’s time to put these important initiatives into action.”
The bills address a wide spectrum of the environmental challenges facing California in recent years.
Bills signed into law include:
- AB1167 by Asm. Carrillo- the orphan oil well prevention act to make polluters pay
- AB1373 by Asm. Garcia- to speed up the path to 100% by granting the state the power to buy clean energy
- AB3 by Asm. Zbur, the Offshore Wind and Jobs Act
- SB48 by Sen. Becker for energy efficiency in the biggest commercial buildings
- SB49 by Sen. Becker to open up highway rights of way to solar, storage and transmission
- SB605 by Sen. Padilla to tap into offshore wave energy
- SB253 by Sen. Wiener requires big companies to disclose their climate emissions
- SB261 by Sen. Stern requires companies to disclose their climate-related financial risks
- AB126 led by Asm. Reyes and Sen. Gonzalez to reauthorize over $170 million per year in clean transportation funding for the next decade
“This is what walking the walk on the road to 100% clean energy looks like, ” said Johanna Neumann, Environment America’s senior director of the Campaign for 100% Renewable Energy. “California is showing the many different entry points available to make it possible to power more of our lives with renewable energy.”
News item from Environment America
The rooftop industry started the solar revolution in California, now Governor Newson has taken a sledge hammer to the 65,000 people that work in the rooftop solar industry in favor of the monopoly model. He been paid handsomely to do so by PG&E and the 1245 IBEW lineman’s union, as well as SDE and SDGE.
PG&E alone provided him with 50 million dollars for his political war chest. It was his manipulation of the CPUC by handpicking commissioners that would vote to eliminate rooftop solar for home owners, schools and business. The additional fact that his back room dealings with the CPUC and the utilities is sealed only adds to the insult.
Having been in the rooftop solar industry for 44 years here in San Francisco and having designed the built the first net metering system in SF in 1997, I am well aware of his political progress. In fact his people came to our company to help with a YouTube ad by asking that we get people of color installing rooftop solar to promote his running for governor. The hypocrisy is staggering.