Based on that vetting, our local legislative team supports the passage of thirteen bills so far that are considered high priority for our mission. We oppose one. We are unable to take positions on many significant bills because we lack volunteers to track them. You’ll find a few of these orphan bills listed below the endorsed bills. We welcome and encourage volunteers to help track their progress. To become a bill tracker, sign up below—we’ll connect you with resources and support.
Key California Climate Bills Affecting Contra Costa County
Our county sits at the intersection of California’s most pressing climate challenges—home to major oil refineries, communities that bear a disproportionate share of industrial air pollution, and working families facing rising electricity costs. The bills below touch all of these realities, from clean energy affordability to the long-term future of fossil-fuel infrastructure in our own backyard.
350 Bay Area Action Endorsed Bills 2026
Bills Addressing Electricity Affordability
- SB 327—Author: McNerney
Description: Prohibits electrical and gas corporations from passing through to ratepayers any expenses for lobbying against being converted into governmental entities.
Status: Being held for a vote by the Assembly. - SB 868—Author: Weiner
Description: “Balcony Solar, Plug Into the Sun Act”—Exempts portable solar devices from state law and electric utility rules regarding requirements to connect to the electrical distribution system.
Status: To be heard by Appropriations on 4/20. - SB 913—Author: Becker
Description: Allows electric utilities to count distributed energy resources, such as microgrids and EV’s, towards resource adequacy requirements.
Status: Passed by Energy, Utilities, & Communications, referred to Privacy, Digital Technologies, & Consumer Protection. - SB 978—Author: Perez
Description: Requires the CPUC to create a rate structure for large data centers to prevent cost shifts to other ratepayers. Sets labor requirements for data center construction and use of renewable energy for backup power.
Status: Passed by the Labor, Public Employment & Retirement committee, to be heard by Appropriations on 4/20. - AB 1577—Author: Bauer-Kahan
Description: Requires data centers to report energy and water usage. Second try for a bill that died in Assembly Appropriations last year.
Status: Passed by the Utilities & Energy committee, to be heard by Natural Resources.
Bills Supporting the Clean Energy Transition
- SB 222—Author: Weiner
Description: Requires streamlining of local permitting for residential heat pump systems and acceptance by homeowner associations.
Status: Being held for a vote by the Assembly. - SB 982—Author: Weiner
Description: Allows the Attorney General to sue fossil fuel companies for insurance costs related to damages attributable to climate change.
Status: To be heard by the Judiciary committee on 4/21. - SB 1259—Author: Blakespear
Description: Refineries to provide decommissioning and site environmental remediation costs to the California Energy Commission.
Status: In the Committee on Environmental Quality. - AB 1448—Author: Hart
Description: Expands permitting requirements for transfers of offshore oil and gas infrastructure and requires new permits for pipelines that haven’t been used for 5 or more years. Sponsored by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Environmental Defense Fund.
Status: In the Senate inactive file. - AB 1790—Author: Connolly
Description: Closes the loophole that allows corporations to exclude foreign profits from state taxation. Sponsored by UnRIG California, a labor union campaign.
Status: In the Revenue & Taxation committee. - AB 2157—Author: Connolly
Description: Turns the Displaced Oil and Gas Worker Pilot Program into a permanent program and requires it to work with the UCB Center for Labor Research and Education.
Status: In the Labor & Employment committee. - AB 2184—Author: Wilson
Description: Would use $250 million from cap-and-trade funds for climate solutions on natural and working lands.
Status: Passed out of the Natural Resources committee and in Appropriations. - AB 2461—Author: Hart
Description: Strengthens bonding requirements for oil and gas wells when their ownership changes.
Status: In the Natural Resources committee.
Bill We Oppose Unless Amended
SB 1087—Author: Cabaldon
Description: Endangers planning for reduced vehicle GHG emissions by shifting significant responsibilities to the California Transportation Commission from the California Air Quality Board.
Status: In the Transportation committee.
Bills Needing Volunteer Trackers
You may have noticed that several of the endorsed bills above—SB 1259, AB 2461, and AB 2157—address Contra Costa County’s reality: our refineries, the workers who depend on them, and the environmental responsibilities that come with decommissioning. Those bills made it onto the endorsed list because volunteers took the time to vet them carefully.
The bills below need that same attention. These bills could have significant implications for Contra Costa County residents—but we won’t know until someone digs in. These are exactly the kinds of bills that benefit from having local eyes on them. Tracking takes only a few hours a month, and it’s one of the most concrete ways a Contra Costa County resident can influence state legislation.
This list is a selection of the bills we can support or oppose if you help track them.
Bills Addressing Electricity Affordability
- AB 1677—Author: Boerner and Harabedian
Description: Restricts the profit percentage that publicly owned utilities can earn to no more than 4 percent above the long-term Treasury bond interest rate. - SB 1359—Author: Stern
Description: Allows the California Public Utilities Commission to authorize the discontinuation of gas transmission lines. Prohibits passing on the costs of gas leaks to customers. - AB 2383—Author: Zbur
Description: Overlaps with SB 978 in preventing cost shifts of large electricity users to other customers, but has a lower threshold for energy use.
Bill Supporting the Clean Energy Transition
AB 1536—Author: Addis
Description:This is a new version of AB 1448. Requires CEQA review of offshore pipelines near an environmentally sensitive area. Requires the closure of pipelines that do not use the best safety technology.
Transportation Bills
- SB 1167—Author: Blakespear
Description: Regulates motor vehicles that look like e-bikes to improve safety and hold manufacturers responsible for misleading advertisements. - SB 1282—Author: Becker
Description: Requires the California Energy Commission to establish mandated percentages of new electric vehicles that can supply energy to the grid - AB 2748—Author: Quirk-Silva
Description: Exempts developers of affordable housing units from EV charging station installation in designated parking areas.
Help Influence CA Climate Legislation—Become a Bill Tracker
Whether you’re new to advocacy or a seasoned activist, becoming a bill tracker is one of the most direct ways to make your voice count—and to ensure that Contra Costa County’s perspective is represented in the process. If any of the bills above caught your attention, that’s a good sign. Sign up below and join our community of local advocates. We’ll save you a seat!
Pub: Apr 21, 2026
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