As chair of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, member of the Natural Resources and Water Committee, and Co-Chair of our Environmental Caucus, much of our office’s work pertains to the defense and maintenance of our air, water, soil, plants, wildlife, and more. After the significant successes last year with our climate package and climate investments of $20 billion, we have some more big things planned for this year, including a multi-billion dollar bond aimed at fortifying our state amidst climate change while also preserving natural resources. I am also addressing a significant component of the severely antiquated water rights system in a joint effort alongside several legislators who represent various areas of our state. Additionally, after visiting communities in the Central Valley impacted by methane produced from dairy farms, I authored SB 709 to address possible perverse incentives within California’s emission reduction incentive program that might be leading to increased pollution from these farms. We will continue to work on this issue through the year.
Last year, after four years of hard work from a long list of folks from industry, environmental groups, and government, we secured approval of SB 54, the Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act. With that new law, we were trying to stop a problem before it got worse. This year, I have introduced two measures that aim to get ahead of pollution issues. As a result of SB 54, a number of companies will be producing some new materials in lieu of plastic. That’s awesome! But before they risk leading to a similar pollution crisis, we are charging the state’s Environmental Protection Agency to come up with a methodology to analyze new materials and how to assure they are disposed properly. Similarly, as the state looks towards electrifying more motor vehicles, we must make sure that we have a plan for what to do with electric vehicle batteries that have served their purpose, which is exactly what SB 615 will do.
