SACRAMENTO – Fifteen bills representing the array of Senator Josh Becker’s legislative priorities were cleared by the powerful Senate Appropriation Committee on Thursday, allowing the bills to advance to a floor vote by the state Legislature’s upper house.
The deadline for bills to pass their house of origin is May 27. Senator Becker’s bills are among the roughly 300 that are eligible for Senate votes next week.
“I’m grateful for the support of Appropriations Chair Senator Anthony Portantino and the committee,” said Senator Becker, D-Peninsula. “I look forward to bringing my bills before all my Senate colleagues for a vote next week.”
Taking Climate Action
Senator Becker chairs the Senate Subcommittee on the Clean Energy Future, serves as co-chair of the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies, and is a member of the Senate Transportation Committee. Here are his seven climate bills eligible for Senate vote next week.
Net-Zero for the State of California: The centerpiece of the senator’s 2022 climate bill portfolio, Senate Bill 1203, requires state agencies to publish greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventories and create plans for achieving net zero emissions from their own operations by 2035. As more companies and cities set net zero targets, the California state government would lead by example and demonstrate how to achieve net zero in advance of the net zero target for the whole economy.
More Detailed Clean Energy Reporting: SB 1158 improves the way utilities and community choice aggregators report their energy sources to provide California a more accurate picture of when our grid is relying on clean energy, when it is using fossil fuels, and how much. The bill requires electricity suppliers to provide a detailed accounting of the GHG emissions associated with their electricity so regulators can better monitor suppliers’ progress in achieving the GHG reduction targets set for them under the Integrated Resources Planning (IRP) process
The Seamless Transit Transformation Act: SB 917 Moves the Bay Area toward a more seamless transit network by requiring the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the region’s 27 transit operators to perform more efficient coordination and integration between their systems by directing MTC and operators to better integrate fares, create unified transit maps, and use real-time transit data, among other activities.
Improved Transmission Planning: SB 887 accelerates the construction of transmission needed to deliver the enormous amount of new clean energy resources that will enable California to achieve the state’s SB 100 goal for renewable energy and zero carbon resources. The bill requires the California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) and the California Energy Commission (CEC) to provide long-term forecasts, consistent with SB 100 and other decarbonization goals, so the Independent System Operator can plan and authorize the necessary transmission projects.
Clean Energy Infrastructure Authority Study: SB 1032 is aimed at facilitating construction of large amounts of new transmission in our state at a much faster pace than ever done before. The bill proposes a study to identify ways to accelerate development and reduce ratepayers’ cost of expanding California's electrical transmission in order to achieve the state’s GHG goals. The CPUC would conduct the study in consultation with the Treasurer’s Office, the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, the Independent System Operator and the CEC.
Low-Cost Financing for Building Decarbonization: SB 1112 supports equitable financing for climate-beneficial building upgrades. The legislation enables and encourages utilities to offer Tariffed On-Bill (TOB) investment programs, also known as inclusive utility investment programs, by making a technical fix in existing law that could otherwise impede the roll-out of these programs. The bill also directs the California Energy Commission to explore how the state and its utilities can leverage federal financing and existing state programs to make low-cost financing available to TOB investment programs.
California Clean Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit: SB 1301 establishes the state’s first manufacturing tax credit specifically for clean energy products. As California and the world shift to clean energy alternatives, the demand for clean energy products will skyrocket. This presents an immense opportunity for California. A clean energy manufacturing tax credit will not only spur the production of clean energy products needed to meet our own benchmarks, but create thousands of future-proof manufacturing jobs in California.
Social Justice, Equity and Education
The Keep Families Connected Act: SB 1008 makes phone calls, emails and other telecom connections free for people incarcerated in California prisons or county jails. The bill eliminates the burdensome per minute and per correspondence fees for all communications to and from incarcerated people, enabling them to keep in better contact with their loved ones and support systems. Research compiled before the pandemic showed that telecom costs for keeping in touch with incarcerated loved ones drove more than 1 in 3 families into debt.
Food with Care: SB 1481 creates a free meal program in child care centers that abide by the federal Child and Adult Care Food Programs standards. The bill also eliminates the State Meal Reimbursement pay penalty that currently only reimburses up to 75% of meal costs. The bill provides relief to child care providers while ensuring the state’s youngest learners have the same access to free meals that all California public school students will soon have.
Digital Education Equity: SB 876 directs the Department of Education, along with County Offices of Education, to plan and implement the Digital Education Equity Program, which provides equitable educational technology support to all school districts.
Grantmaking by the Office of the State Public Defender: SB 1117 permits the Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD) to issue grant awards, if allocated, to the most innovative public defender offices and programs across the state.
Fostering California Businesses and Affordable Housing
The Expanding Employee Ownership Act: SB 1407 creates a hub within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development, better known as GO-Biz, that will focus on helping workers, business owners and other stakeholders learn about employee ownership, provide funding for technical assistance to study feasibility of transition, and assist business owners and workers in navigating resources to smooth the path for transition.
The Housing and Community Development Pooled Reserve: SB 948 cuts costs for affordable housing projects in California by shifting the responsibility to hold a “transition reserve” from the project level to a pooled reserve operated by the state's Housing and Community Development Department. The switch would free up significant affordable housing resources that are currently locked away in project-specific reserves and would instead allow the money to be used to produce additional units of affordable housing, or deepen the affordability of units.
Protecting Rights of the Public, Press, Privacy and Patients
Public Right to Police Radio Communications Act: SB 1000 seeks to protect the freedom of the press to report, and the public's right to know, what is going on in their community, while also protecting sensitive identifying information contained in police radio communications. The bill would ensure there are options for the public to access police radio communications.
Medical Patient Records: SB 1419 adds new protections to ensure patients receive sensitive information about their clinical laboratory tests and imaging scans in the manner that works best for them.
The information on all Senator Becker’s bills is available here.
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Media Contact: Leslie Guevarra, leslie.guevarra@sen.ca.gov, 415-298-3404