Legislature and Governor take steps towards cleaner air, need to do more next year

With Governor Newsom having acted on all the bills the Legislature sent him this year, it’s time to assess the results. Several bills that we supported to reduce harmful pollution are now law, but lawmakers failed to act on some key ambitious measures, leaving unfinished business for next year. WINS AB 970, authored by Assemblymembers … Read more

The Legislature’s unfinished business: the 2021 end of session

California’s Legislature returns to the Capitol on August 16 to begin the four-week home stretch of this year’s session, with the fates of hundreds of bills to be decided. Here are some of the bills we’re working on: RELIEF FROM THOSE NOISY, SMELLY LEAF BLOWERS AND LAWN MOWERS Shockingly, the smog-forming emissions from small off-road … Read more

Statement of Bill Magavern, Coalition for Clean Air Policy Director, on the 2021-2022 California budget and clean transportation funding

For immediate release Friday, June 29, 2021   “We are pleased that substantial funding for zero-emission vehicles and infrastructure was included in today’s budget, because cleaning up transportation is essential to solving our twin crises of air pollution and climate change. In particular, the record investments in clean trucks and buses will reduce the toxic … Read more

TAKE ACTION: Tell CA to #investincleanair and support clean, equitable transportation

California has the worst air quality in the nation, and more than half of our state’s global warming pollution comes from cars, trucks and the fuel they burn. Lawmakers in Sacramento are now deciding how to spend the record budget surplus. Join us in calling for historic investments in clean air. Urgent: Tell your legislators … Read more

ACTION ALERT! Invest in Clean and Equitable Transportation

Transportation pollution is California’s largest driver of climate change and the number one reason our state has the MOST polluted air in the nation. Thankfully, Governor Newsom and state legislators have a historic opportunity to approve major investments in clean and equitable transportation programs in this year’s state budget. This is URGENT: We must ensure that our state lawmakers pass a budget that invests in clean cars, … Read more

COVID-19: Both a threat and an opportunity for clean transportation

COVID-19’s public health threat is clear. In just four months, over 104,000 Americans have died during the pandemic. The virus’s death toll already exceeds the United States’ combined military fatalities during the Korean, Vietnam, Gulf, Afghan, and Iraq Wars – a period that stretches roughly 40 years. These numbers are sobering and tragic, but COVID-19’s … Read more

Clearing the Air: recapping the 2019 legislative year

Testifying before Senate Committee

Another legislative year has come and gone in Sacramento; and it brought both good and bad news for air quality. Not only did 2019 mark the beginning of a new legislative session with 13 newly elected State Legislators, but it was also the first full year with Governor Gavin Newsom and Senate President Pro Tempore … Read more

While the Lobbyists Crowd the Legislature with Bills to Benefit Their Clients, Some Measures Aimed at Public Benefits Rather than Corporate Profits Survive

Photo Credit: The Nation By Rocky Rushing There are 120 elected members of the California Legislature. They are in session nine months out of the year, deciding the fate of thousands of bills. Committee hearings and floor sessions of the Legislature’s two official houses – the Senate and Assembly – are generally live-streamed on the … Read more