From the Capitol

Earth Month Recap

May 08, 2023

 


Learn About My 2023 Environmental Bills and Check Out the Latest Buzz
Around Senate Bill 556 to Hold Oil Companies Accountable

Earth Month Recap: This year’s Earth Month we came together to inspire and create positive change to protect our planet and our future. At the Capitol, we talked about the importance of saving our oceans, and in the news, we created a huge buzz about climate legislation to hold oil companies accountable for the health damages they cause such as cancer, and respiratory illnesses. On the ground, we organized cleanups at the beach and local roads to beautify Senate District 33. I am so motivated by all the hard work and the passionate dedication of community advocates, organizations, and most of all of the families and individuals in our District who have been a part of the climate advocacy journey for years, long before my time in the Senate and who continue to fight with unyielding dedication. It was refreshing to feel the excitement and motivation among us for a better future and a cleaner planet this whole month, but we acknowledged there is still much more work to do. The good news is I have many bills this year to help us get closer to that goal!

My 2023 Environmental Bills: a complete list of environmental bills I authored this year.

  • SB 84 - Revitalizes and extends California’s existing Clean Transportation Program. A program that helps fund and propel our clean vehicle deployment efforts.
  • SB 252 - Prohibits the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) and the California State Teachers Retirement System (CalSTRS) from investing in fossil fuel companies, and provides they divest any current holdings in these companies by 2031.
  • SB 378 - Protects our scenic oceans, coastline, and recreational protected areas by prohibiting individuals from bringing Styrofoam food containers and coolers onto State Beaches or into State Parks.
  • SB 507 - Requires the California Energy Commission (CEC) to quantify electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure needs for underserved groups.
  • SB 529  - Expands electric vehicle access for low-income Californians by creating a dedicated grant program to deploy electric vehicle car-sharing at 100 public and low-income housing facilities in California.
  • SB 556 - Holds oil companies accountable for certain health harms in individuals who live in a neighborhood where oil drilling is happening within 3,200 feet. The health harms would include cancer in any individual, respiratory illness in children or seniors, and pre-term or high-risk pregnancies in a pregnant person. 
  • SB 674 - Creates a statewide standard for the refinery air monitoring program to ensure pollutants are measured, and that best practices and technologies are deployed to better protect the health and wellbeing of the surrounding communities.
  • SB 695 - Requires the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to collect, and make available to the public, historical data detailing roadway expansions of the state highway system (SHS) for the past ten years. Additionally, the bill requires Caltrans to report this data every year going forward.
  • SJR 2 - Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 2 will add California to the list of governments calling on the global community to develop a treaty to phase out the use of fossil fuels.

Environmental Work In the News: Here are some of the news articles that created a buzz around SB 556 recently.