SACRAMENTO – Senator Ben Allen today issued the following statement regarding SB 709, a new measure intended to rectify unintended consequences of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program. The bill closes a loophole that incentivizes industrial dairy operations to increase herd sizes and emit ever-greater amounts of methane by providing them with lucrative pollution credits to capture the potent greenhouse gas. SB 709 will increase LCFS transparency and remove the benefit for generating more pollution simply for profit.

“As chair of the State Senate’s Environmental Quality Committee, it is my responsibility to ensure that California not incentivize pollution. 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,” said Senator Allen, who also co-chairs the Legislative Environmental Caucus. “I’m authoring SB 709 not just because it is critical that we get the math right if we are going to reach our climate goals, but because I visited some of the most harmed communities and heard directly from the residents who are suffering and who are crying out for this common-sense change to be made.”

SB 709 is slated to be heard in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee in late April. The measure is supported by a broad coalition led by the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability.

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Ben Allen represents the 24^th State Senate District, which consists of the Westside, Hollywood, South Bay, and Santa Monica Mountains communities of Los Angeles County.