Governor Newsom Signs Climate Measures by ACWA Staff Sep 16, 2022 Water News MARE ISLAND – Today, California enacted some of the nation’s most aggressive climate measures in history as Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a sweeping package of legislation to cut pollution, protect Californians from big polluters, and accelerate the state’s transition to clean energy, according to a news release from the governor’s press office. The list of signed bills announced in the release includes SB 1205 by Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) regarding water rights and appropriation. ACWA supported the bill, which will direct the State Water Resources Control Board to promulgate regulations related to developing a water availability analysis as part of the water rights application process. SB 1205 will improve the process by establishing a uniform methodology for calculating water available for appropriation. ACWA successfully obtained amendments to specify that the regulations will not apply to current water right holders and that the development of regulations will not delay pending water right applications. The package of bills was part of a larger drive on answering climate change. Newsom partnered with legislative leaders to advance measures toward achieving carbon neutrality no later than 2045 and 90% clean energy by 2035. It is an essential piece of the California Climate Commitment, a record $54 billion investment in climate action that exceeds what most countries are spending and advances economic opportunity and environmental justice in communities across the state, according to the release. “This month has been a wake-up call for all of us that later is too late to act on climate change. California isn’t waiting any more,” Newsom stated in the release. “Together with the Legislature, California is taking the most aggressive action on climate our nation has ever seen. We’re cleaning the air we breathe, holding the big polluters accountable, and ushering in a new era for clean energy. That’s climate action done the California Way – and we’re not only doubling down, we’re just getting started.” With multiple oil refineries in the distance, the governor signed the legislation alongside legislative leaders at the USDA Forest Service Regional Office on Mare Island, a facility powered by clean energy that also feeds the grid. “Our state has been facing extreme temperatures, putting our communities, especially our most vulnerable neighbors, at risk. We’re also continuing to deal with an historic drought and the ongoing threat of wildfires. The challenges of climate change are here, and this Legislative session, we took bold action to address these severe conditions and mitigate future risk both through our state budget and key legislation,” said Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego). “We established ambitious and necessary goals to reduce carbon emission and increase renewable energy. We provided the tools industry needs to capture and store carbon before it hits the atmosphere. And we invested in critical infrastructure programs that will keep us firmly planted on the path to a greener future, while simultaneously creating jobs that will support families across the state. California has, and will continue to, lead the nation on not only addressing the worsening climate crisis, but finding proactive solutions.” View the news release online for a complete list of the bills. The full text of the bills is available at http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
