In The Media

The second major piece of legislation is SB 54, the plastics bill, that requires by 2032 100% of packaging in the state to be recyclable or compostable, a 25% cut in plastic packaging, and 65% of all single-use plastic packaging be recycled. The legislation also shifts the plastic pollution burden from consumers to the plastics industry by raising $5 billion from industry members over 10 years.

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With both the 2028 Olympic Summer Games and the 2026 World Cup final set to come to Los Angeles in a few years, the region needs more connectivity, said California State Senator Ben Allen. The transit center provides an opportunity for people to have “a clean, safe hub for a regional transit system,” he said.

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Backers of more money for California transit say its cities don’t need to be as reliant on the service as a place like New York to make it a worthy investment for a state that’s considering the environmental and economic benefits of reducing automobile traffic.

“This is culture. It takes a long time to change,” California state Sen. Ben Allen said. “One way to assure it doesn’t catch on is by letting the system fail.”

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A third bill, SB389, would give the state water board greater authority to investigate the authenticity of senior water rights and strip the rights of those deemed illegitimate. The legislation, authored by Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, flips the burden of proof from the state to the water rights holder, which concerns critics. Water rights dating to 1914 and earlier can be tough to document, and some fear the state water board may be overzealous in its demands for evidence.

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Another measure approved by the Senate, SB 389, would give the State Water Board the authority to investigate and verify whether the claims of senior rights holders are valid and accurate. “They’ve got to have more tools at their disposal to better understand the rights system as it exists,” said Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), who introduced the proposal.

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Recent legislation introduced by state Sen. Ben Allen (D-Redondo Beach), SB 709, would limit the value of credits produced by dairy biogas under the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard. The program credits companies for producing vehicle fuel that replaces fossil fuels, and the bill would change the rules so less money is awarded for dairies that capture methane. “Unfortunately, it appears that a program intended to reward an industry for addressing its climate emissions is being exploited to do just the opposite and is threatening public health,” Allen said in a statement after introducing the

“Holocaust Remembrance Day is one of the most solemn and important days recognized by Jews, friends, and allies throughout the world,” Allen said. “We must continue to remember and teach the history of the Holocaust, especially as we increasingly rely on history books and the descendants of survivors to learn about this atrocity. Yom HaShoah reminds us of the need to stand up for any community that faces discrimination and persecution. If it were not for courageous individuals who risked their lives to save Jews through the underground resistance movement, Eva would not be here today.”

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Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), who authored the 2016 bill, says: “This is a ‘let 1000 flowers bloom’ issue.” “The cost of campaigns is increasingly out of control. It puts so much power in the hands of the wealthy and special interests. I don’t see [public financing] as a magic bullet. But it can make our campaigns cleaner.”

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State Sen. Ben Allen, a Democrat from Santa Monica who authored the law requiring oil companies to disclose more data, said he still has some questions about Newsom’s proposal for a penalty on excessive oil company profits. But he said it was “disappointing” that Chevron had not complied with the law he wrote. “The fact that all of the other industry players were able to do it and they weren’t, I just don’t know what’s going on with them,” Allen said. “We’re going to hold them accountable."

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SB 54 puts the responsibility for recycling on the producer of the product with some targets kicking in by 2032 (25% reduction in plastic packaging. 65% recycling of single-use packages and/or 100% of single-use package being either recyclable or compostable). SB1383 requires that “organics” going to the landfill be reduced to 5.7 million metric tons by 2025, 75% below the 2014 baseline.

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