2024 Legislative Priorities
California Environmental Voters (EnviroVoters) lobbies in Sacramento and across the state to expand access to democracy, to take bold action on climate, and to protect and enhance the land, air, water, and health of all California communities. View our federal priorities here. Check out our top state priority bills and see where they are in the legislative process:
Priority Bills on the Governor's Desk
* 2-year bill
SB 219 (Wiener): Climate Corporate Accountability Laws
SB 1340 (Smallwood Cuevas): Public Contracting and Living Wage Jobs
AB 2513 (Pellerin): Gas Stoves Warning Label
Top 3 Campaigns
A Strong Climate Bond
After years of advocacy, the legislature passed a $10 billion climate bond on July 3rd and the bond was signed by acting Governor, Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire, and will now appear on the November ballot.
As dozens of wildfires are currently burning in the state and at the same time a global extreme heat wave is causing fatalities in California, around the country, and around the world—voters deserve this chance to vote on a climate bond to fund the solutions!
This bond represents a thoughtful balance of environmental justice, conservation, resilience, and clean energy, with a focus on the state’s most pressing issues: drinking water, flood prevention, wildfire prevention and resilience, park access, extreme heat mitigation, sustainable agriculture, sea level rise and coastal resilience, clean energy, and protecting biodiversity, and investing in nature based solutions.
With the multi-year state climate budget having been significantly cut, we know we cannot rely on such a volatile general fund to provide sustained funding for major projects and we need all options on the table to finance the transition. If approved by voters, this bond is the last opportunity of this decade before the 2030 climate deadline to put significant dollars towards climate resilience and clean energy in the next several years. This is the better deal for California taxpayers because for every dollar we don’t spend on climate we will spend between six to ten times as much on emergency management, failing infrastructure, high energy bills, and public health costs.
Green Hydrogen or Bust!
Hydrogen does have some benefits as an energy source for hard-to-electrify sectors, but we should be electrifying first wherever we can to save money and the planet. But hydrogen also has the potential to create more harm and more emissions if it’s not produced and used in the smartest way. Truly green hydrogen production must adhere to these considerations that environmental and environmental justice organizations have been calling for to truly be a climate and clean air benefit:
1. California must only produce hydrogen exclusively through truly clean sources of energy (solar, wind, and geothermal).
2. Rigorous monitoring must be implemented to prevent leaks, minimize transportation, and prevent the use of hydrogen in sectors better served by electrification.
3. Community engagement must be mandated to mitigate negative impacts on disadvantaged communities.
4. Production must be reasonably limited in its use of resources, as hydrogen fuel is very energy and water-intensive to produce
5. Short-term warming effects of hydrogen must be considered.
6. Green hydrogen production must adhere to the three pillars of 1) new clean supply, 2) hourly matching and 3) deliverability which will support the deployment of clean hydrogen in this decade. Without these, hydrogen will increase emissions.
Ending Oil and Gas Subsidies
While penalizing price gouging and launching lawsuits against major oil players have been impactful measures, these campaigns underscore the persistent issue of massive tax benefits still being granted to the fossil fuel industry. Especially in the face of a budget deficit this year with massive cuts to climate priorities proposed, ending oil and gas subsidies will quite literally cover the cost of the climate budget priorities that have been cut.
We urge policymakers to identify and remove tax expenditures benefiting the oil and gas industry, including provisions like the Water’s Edge Election and Research and Development Credit. We need immediate action to ensure these funds are redirected toward climate programs and initiatives instead.
Top bills that did not make it through
AB 985 (Arambula): Central Valley Air Pollution Credit Reform*
What We Do
California Environmental Voters is focused on building the political power to solve the climate crisis, advancing justice, and creating a roadmap for global action. We are California’s voice, statewide and nationally, for bold climate action. We elect and cultivate environmental champions, turn election victories into policy wins, hold our lawmakers accountable, and build political power to transform our political system and achieve climate justice. Learn more about what we do.
