Press Release

Legislators Applaud Transformative but Achievable Vision From Governor, Now the Hard Work of Legislating Begins

SACRAMENTO – Following Wednesday’s bold climate announcement by Governor Newsom, a coalition of California legislators announced they are looking forward to beginning the hard legislative work needed to truly attack the climate emergency.

Senators Ben Allen, Lena Gonzalez, Hannah-Beth Jackson, Mike McGuire, Holly Mitchell, Bill Monning, Nancy Skinner, and Henry Stern, along with Assemblymembers Marc Berman, Richard Bloom, Tasha Boerner Horvath, David Chiu, Kansen Chu, Laura Friedman, Eduardo Garcia, Lorena Gonzalez, Ash Kalra, Sidney Kamlager, Marc Levine, Monique Limón, Kevin McCarty, Kevin Mullin, Al Muratsuchi, Eloise Gómez Reyes, Luz Rivas, Robert Rivas, Phil Ting, and Jim Wood issued the following statement:

   “Science does know. This is a climate emergency.  Solving it requires a strategy driven towards justice, fueled by jobs and innovation.  

“The Governor laid out a vision that is radical and ambitious, but also necessary and achievable.  As chairs and members of the key policy and fiscal committees who are going to be needed to get much of this work done, we stand ready to refine this vision with the policies, investments and political courage necessary to supercharge this effort.  

“While we await a partner in the federal government, we cannot afford to delay our push here or with other climate emergency solutions, from wildfire resilience, to sustainability and decarbonization in buildings, housing, transportation, waste, and natural and working lands.  Now the hard legislative work begins.”  

Governor Newsom issued an Executive Order on Wednesday that, among other things:

  • Directs the Air Resources Board (ARB) to develop regulations with a goal of having all new cars and passenger trucks sold in California be zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and having all new medium- and heavy-duty vehicles sold in the state be zero-emission vehicles by 2045.
  • Directs the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Natural Resources Agency to develop strategies, recommendations and actions by July 15, 2021, to manage and speed up the responsible closure and remediation of former oil extraction sites as California transitions to a carbon-neutral economy.
  • Directs the California Geologic and Energy Management Division of the Department of Conservation (CalGEM) to provide a stringent, science-based health and safety draft rule to protect communities and workers from the impacts of oil extraction activities by the end of the year.

Here is a link to the Governor’s full Executive Order.  

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