A slew of environmental bills passed the California Legislature before the legislative session ended on Saturday, Aug. 31. Those bills now await Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval. But in an added twist, Newsom called lawmakers to return for a special session to tackle gas prices this fall — and the Senate president pro tempore refused. Two UCLA environmental law experts expect the unanticipated drama to fuel conversation about Newsom’s project to lower gas prices through increased oil refinery oversight.
Below are highlights about the conflict and the bills from two legislative watchers, UCLA environmental lawyer Julia Stein and UCLA energy law researcher Denise Grab:
Stein:
“There are questions about whether the Senate president pro tempore can actually refuse to convene the special session if the governor calls it, and arguments about the legal authority on each side. I think we’ll continue to hear discussion about whether a special session will convene around oil refinery oversight, gas prices and utility-bill prices.”
Grab:
“The so-called ‘energy affordability package’ feels more like a ‘special interest package.’ Energy affordability is a huge issue in California, due to costs including wildfire prevention, the need to expand transmission infrastructure, and low credit ratings for various utility agencies. But the bills we got this year wouldn’t address the root causes. One that didn’t pass would have paid for a small, one-time rebate of $30–$70 per household by getting rid of popular programs that upgrade school heating and air conditioning systems, and resiliency programs for low-income communities.”
Stein:
“The UCLA law clinic contributed to an EV-related bill now on the governor’s desk, SB 615 by Sen. Ben Allen. It would create a program that requires the supplier of an EV battery take responsibility for reusing or recycling the product at the end of its lifecycle. This extended producer-responsibility program is especially important for EV batteries because they have really valuable component parts made of critical minerals whose mining creates huge impacts for nearby communities and the environment. We’re making sure those materials are being repurposed, reused or recycled.”
Grab:
“There seems to be an effort to align state clean-energy programs with the Inflation Reduction Act to make sure that money gets out the door quickly and is on its way, before a potential Trump administration can try to dismantle the IRA. I think the bills to streamline the approval of hydrogen facilities and other clean-energy projects were designed with that in mind.”
Stein:
“The law currently requires utilities to provide natural gas service to their customers, even when customers don’t really need it any more. That makes it really complicated to decommission gas infrastructure to electrify homes. SB 1221 would allow the state to identify up to 30 pilot neighborhoods that are good candidates for decommissioning gas service and going all-electric. This could be a really valuable way to test out that transition away from gas infrastructure to electricity service.”
Stein:
“There are so many pressures and costs facing utilities in the coming years. As the climate impacts get worse, as a state, we do need to figure out how to deal with rising consumer costs.”
UCLA’s Julia Stein is an expert on environmental litigation, regulations and legislation. She is the deputy director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law, where she teaches environmental law.
UCLA energy law researcher Denise Grab is the energy law and policy project director for the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA School of Law.
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