Every year, our team of experts review California’s proposed bills for potential impacts on San Francisco Bay, Bay Area communities, and the state’s waters.
This year, there was a lot of new proposed legislation with ramifications for the Bay—some good, and some very bad. So, we weighed in.
Nine of the bills that we supported passed through the legislature and were signed by Governor Newsom, and all of the bills that we opposed died in the legislature!
Here are a few highlights:
- Reining in the Fossil Fuel Industry: Wins include new laws preventing dangerous chemical explosions and other hazards at oil and biofuel refineries (AB 3258); cleaning up idle oil wells that leak greenhouse gases and other pollutants (AB 1866); capping oil well production for the health of neighboring communities (AB 2716); and allowing local governments to restrict oil and gas operations in their jurisdictions (AB 3233).
- Stopping Water Grabs: Wins include the successful passage of AB 460, which increases penalties for illegally stealing water from the ecosystem. We also opposed two bad bills, SB 1390 and SB 366, that would have facilitated even more water diversions from California’s over-tapped rivers. Both bills died.
- Controlling Toxic Pollutants: Wins include AB 2851, which requires metal shredders—like Schnitzer Steel in Oakland—to install air monitoring systems and require public health departments to issue notifications regarding the adverse effects on air quality and public health. We also supported AB 2761, which bans the sale of toxic plastic packaging containing PFAS (“forever chemicals”) or made of toxic PVC/PVDC.
- Closing the Loophole on Plastic Bags: California passed a law several years ago banning the sale of plastics bags. Unfortunately, companies took advantage of a loophole in the law that allowed the sale of bags made of thick plastic. Now, SB 1053 has passed, which closes this loophole and that means less plastic will pollute SF Bay.
Photo: Robb Most