2015 California Legislature bill summaries Sierra Club supported

  • Posted on 30 November 2015
  • By From Sierra Club reports

Sierra Club California policy advocates select the California Legislative bills that appear on the 2015 Score Card of the state's elected officials.

The selection is based on factors that include a bill’s overall importance to the state’s environmental quality, the precedent it sets for good or bad impacts, and the bill’s importance to fulfilling the Club’s mission.

This year, we scored 12 bills. One, SB 454, did not get off the Senate floor and so is not included in the Assembly scoring. Another, AB 356, failed to get off the Assembly floor and so is not included in the Senate scoring. SB 20’s contents were inserted into a budget trailer bill after it left the Senate floor, so SB 20 is not included in the Assembly scoring.

AB 1242’s contents changed entirely through a gut-and-amend action in the Senate and was not brought to a floor vote, and so is not included in the Senate scoring.

Here are the relevant bills of 2015:

AB 243 (Wood): Establishes new, and expands existing, regulations and programs to reduce environmental impacts of medical marijuana cultivation. SUPPORT: Signed into law

AB 356 (Williams): Would have ensured that California protects aquifers by monitoring underground injection of toxic oil waste into aquifers, and by expanding public meetings before injection of waste into potential drinking water sources can occur. SUPPORT: Failed on Assembly Floor

AB 693 (Eggman): Creates the Multifamily Affordable Housing Renewables Program, to provide opportunities for everyone to benefit from renewable energy installations.
SUPPORT: Signed into law

AB 888 (Bloom): Prohibits all plastic microbeads in personal care products and favors environmentally sound alternatives. SUPPORT: Signed into law

AB 1071 (Atkins): Closes gaps in existing programs, policies, or activities within the California Environmental Protection Agency that may prevent achievement of envi- ronmental justice goals. SUPPORT: Signed into law

AB 1242 (Gray): Would have curbed the State Water Resources Control Board's ability to set instream flow requirements necessary to provide water needed for the Delta and environment. OPPOSE: Passed Assembly; gutted and amended in the Senate and not brought to the floor

SB 20 (Pavley): Required well completion reports to be made publicly available upon request, to allow for better data collection and science-based management of ground- water. SUPPORT: Passed Senate; included in budget lan- guage

SB 32 (Pavley): Would have codified the framework for meeting California’s climate goals for 2050 and authorized the Air Resources Board to establish interim targets. SUPPORT: Failed on Assembly Floor

SB 350 (de León): Sets greenhouse gas reduction goals for 2030 through a 50% increase in renewable energy gen- eration, and a doubling of energy efficiency in existing buildings. Petroleum reduction goals were stripped out in the Assembly. SUPPORT: Signed into law

SB 454 (Allen): Would have prevented the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources from allowing illegal injection of oil waste into groundwater. SUPPORT: Failed on Senate Floor

SB 660 (Leno): Would have reformed the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) governance struc- ture and closed loopholes that have allowed regulated utili- ties undue influence at the CPUC. SUPPORT: Vetoed by Governor

SB 788 (McGuire): Would have closed a loophole that allows new offshore oil drilling in state waters off the coast of Santa Barbara. SUPPORT: Failed in Assembly Appro- priations Committee

 

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