We’re leaning in—and leaning ON the California legislature, as the 2025 session lurches to the finish line
Janet Cox, CEO, Climate Action California
With just three weeks left before the end of the 2025 legislative session in Sacramento, there are many large shoes still to drop. We’ll try to keep everyone informed, and let you know when your representatives need your encouragement to do the right thing by the climate!
More about what’s to come in a minute, but TODAY we’re on a topic I’ve been writing about for months: the highly problematic changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) jammed into a poison pill “trailer bill” to the budget at the end of June. Six senators wrote to Senate President pro Tem McGuire and Budget Chair Wiener this month asking for legislative fixes to the worst elements of the bill, and that letter is being circulated to all offices, asking for signatures.
Today’s ask: Call your Senator and Assembly Member and ask them to sign the dear colleague letter to the leadership, urging repairs to the worst of SB 131!
Find your representatives and their Sacramento office phone numbers here.
Already signed on, so—please thank Asm Dawn Addis, Sen. Ben Allen, Sen. Jesse Arreguín, Asm Steve Bennett, Sen. Catherine Blakespear, Sen. John Laird, Sen. Caroline Menjivar, Sen. Stephen Padilla, Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez, Asm Chris Rogers, Sen. Henry Stern, and Asm Rick Chavez Zbur.
When you call the other 108 Senators and Assembly members, please say something like this:
“Hello, I’m ___________, a resident of __________, and a constituent. I am calling to request that your boss sign the letter being circulated by Senator Blakespear TODAY. The letter asks the leadership to put forward legislation NOW addressing the Advanced Manufacturing exemption and the omission of endangered species habitat from the definition of protected lands in SB 131. To sign, call or email Brynn Cook in Senator Blakespear’s office.”
That’s today’s assignment! In the coming days we should be learning about—and sharing with you—the latest in a slew of late-breaking climate-related measures, all negotiated out of public view and being dropped on the legislature after “regular order” bill oversight hearings are done for the year. We’re waiting to see bill language addressing
- Cap and Trade reauthorization, in the form of two bills from the Assembly and the Senate: On the same page? We’re waiting to see! (Current bill language is just placeholders, while rumors abound.)
- A shocking draft bill from the Governor, exempting oil and gas drilling in California from environmental review in order to keep uneconomic refineries open and, purportedly, reduce gasoline prices. Still, apparently, in search of an author
- An amended version of a bill simplifying the permitting process for oil refineries while abandoning California’s low-emissions gasoline formulation
- Permit streamlining for all sorts of energy projects, in the form of amendments to a 2022 budget trailer bill
- Appropriations decisions and negotiated amendments to some big energy bills designed to lower electric rates—to be announced this week
It’s going to be intense. Things may have changed by the time you read this! It’s going to take all of us reaching out to our representatives to ensure that they stand up for the climate when the pressure is on.
Thanks for your help. Every call makes a difference!
Janet
