TAKE ACTION: Ask Governor Newsom to Sign SB 571 For Better Fire Evacuation Planning!

Climate-induced natural disasters are here and threatening lives and property across our state – as we send this alert today – over 50,000 Californains are under wildfire evacuation orders. At the end of August, the California Legislature passed SB 571, championed by Senator Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica). This bill provides for interagency coordination toward a report laying the groundwork to create much-needed evacuation planning standards for development in high-risk areas. We need your support to urge Governor Gavin Newsom’s signature on SB 571. Read more »

TAKE ACTION: Take Action Today to Urge Governor Newsom to Sign AB 460!

On August 30, the Legislature passed AB 460 (Bauer-Kahan), which increases fines for illegally violating water diversion curtailment orders. Under AB 460, these fines would finally reach the level needed to deter violations, protecting downstream users and the environment. This bill targets only those who breach existing laws. To prepare for the worst impacts of climate change, California needs the ability to enforce our water management laws and deter violations that hurt all users on the system. Read more »

California Senate Chamber desks

PCL Capital Insider – June 2024

Successes and Challenges on the Legislative Front: HCF Protected and Chaos in Wildfire Policy
First, a big win!

Habitat Conservation Fund (HCF) is saved, and its previous funding is restored! Last week, the administration’s proposed budget trailer bill suggested eliminating the HCF and taking back $45 million already committed to the fund in previous fiscal years. PCL, our legal advisors and allies, and you, our members, quickly responded; we let legislators and the Governor know that the citizen-created HCF is needed to support wildlife in the face of climate change and that the will of the voters stands with California’s critical habitats. Proposition 117, passed by the electorate in 1990 and sponsored by PCL, created the fund that has since disbursed almost one billion dollars for wild habitat conservation across our state. Thank you again for helping protect the legacy of Prop 117!

PCL continues to advance many of the bills we support, and we have seen wins in defending against lousy legislation and poor policy. Plenty of challenges remain, however, and we will certainly have our hands full of good work! Below are the highlights of some of the critical environmental bills this session—the good, the bad, and the ugly.
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TAKE ACTION: Don’t let them gut the Habitat Conservation Fund!

As you read this, the California State Legislature and Governor Newsom are moving to defy the will of voters who passed Proposition 117 in 1990 and wipe out funding for the wildly successful Habitat Conservation Fund. As lawmakers and the governor move to finalize the budget by the end of June, your voice is essential to send a clear message that they need to reverse course and protect the fund. Please take action today! Read more »

Sacramento Capitol interior

PCL Capital Insider – April 2024

2024 will be a fast-paced and chaotic year in the capital: with a state budget crisis, a looming national election, and a flurry of action on bills old and new the legislature and those that follow them will have our hands full. The state Senate is under the new leadership of President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire and a slew of newly appointed committee chairs, and over in the Assembly, Speaker Robert Rivas just assumed his role at the end of June 2023. The priorities of the new leadership and their coalitions in both houses are still evolving. Coupled with the challenges we face, votes and outcomes will grow more difficult to ascertain in advance. Read more »

PCL Capital Insider – February 2024

California Environmental Assembly was held on Saturday, January 27th, 2024, at UC Davis, hosted by the School of Law’s California Environmental Law & Policy Center. The Assembly theme – Beyond 1.5 Degrees: Hard Truths and Solutions – focused our discussions on immediate needs and actions to address the multi-tiered challenges of climate change: more intense cycles of drought and flood, massive wildfires, and our need to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gasses dramatically have set the stage for needed reforms and advances in law and policy. Read more »

PCL Capital Insider – October 2023

The 2023 legislative session was jam-packed for the Planning & Conservation League. We directly sponsored or co-sponsored six bills and were crucially involved in furthering many other essential pieces of legislation covering water, housing, CEQA, wildlife, energy, and infrastructure. Of our six bills – all taking bold steps to tackle difficult issues –the Governor has already signed one, and four are still alive to continue on to next year. Here are some highlights of this exciting year. Read more »

PCL Capital Insider – September 2023

Mobilizing around a trio of bills (SB 389, AB 460, and AB 1337), over 70 groups, including California tribes, environmental justice organizations, commercial fishing and sport fishing groups, and a wide range of conservation advocates, joined in support of one or more of the measures – 16 groups supported the full legislative package as of this writing.  PCL and our allies are advancing reforms that matter. This work will help us all adapt and thrive, especially SB 389, which passed the legislature and now awaits action by the Governor. Read more »