Local Action for a Better World

Action Alert: It’s time to call Sacramento!

This is the week our state legislators will be voting on several key climate bills, so it’s time for you to make two quick phone calls to your senator and assemblymember. Elected officials pay more attention to constituents’ phone calls than to emails. When you call their Sacramento office, the staffer who answers the phone will be happy to take your message.

We don’t know exactly when each bill will be voted on, so please call today!

Not sure who represents you? You can use this tool to find the names of your senator and assemblymember.

Call your senator

Tell your senator to vote YES on these two important bills:

• SB 1497—will establish a Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Program. Businesses that have been responsible for the most greenhouse gas emissions through the extraction, processing, and sale of fossil fuels from 2000-2020 will pay into the fund. Fees will be assessed proportional to historic emissions. The fund will pay for climate projects across California, prioritizing communities hit first and worst by the climate crisis. It’s time to make the polluters—not taxpayers—pay. SB 1497 will require a 2/3 vote to pass because it has been designated as an “urgency measure. A bill designated as an urgency measure  takes effect immediately upon the Governor's signature. No waiting until January!!
• SB 1006—will require transmission utilities to develop a plan for grid-enhancing technologies that increase transmission capacity—and to identify which of its transmission and distribution lines can be upgraded with advanced reconductors, a cost-effective way of making them much more efficient.

And tell them to vote NO on this bill:

• SB 1420—would amend the section of the Public Resources Code that relates to energy. It inaccurately includes both landfill methane and livestock (“digester”) methane in its list of renewable energy sources. This false “renewable” designation incentivizes the production of livestock methane for the synthesis of “renewable hydrogen.”

You can really make a difference by calling your senator and leaving a message like this:

“My name is _________, and I live in __________. As a constituent, I’m urging the senator to vote YES on two very important climate bills:

• SB 1497 to make polluters pay for the damage they’ve caused, and
• SB 1006 to increase the capacity of the electrical grid.

And I’m asking the senator to vote NO on

• SB 1420 because it would incentivize production of livestock methane.

Phone numbers

Call your assemblymember

On the Assembly side, please call about these five key bills. Tell them to vote YES on:

• AB 3233—updates California law to make it clear that local governments have the right to limit or ban oil and gas operations to protect community health, safety, and the environment.
• AB 3155—holds oil and gas companies accountable for the health harms they cause. Living near an oil or gas well increases risk of asthma, respiratory problems, pre-term births, high-risk pregnancies, and cancer. Under AB 3155, oil and gas companies will be presumed responsible if they are operating within 3200 feet of a home, hospital, or school and residents within those neighborhoods develop certain health problems. The company must prove it did not cause harm. The bill also provides incentives to companies to use the best available technology to reduce pollution and protect communities.
• AB 1866—addresses the problem of California’s 40,000 idle oil wells, which emit methane and contaminate groundwater. It will require oil operators to develop a comprehensive plan to plug all the state’s idle oil wells within the next ten years. And it will require them to prioritize plugging wells within 3,200 feet of where communities live, play and work.
• AB 2716—addresses the problem of pollution from wells that produce less than 15 barrels of oil per day. These low-producing wells still present a health hazard to homes, hospitals, and schools located within the 3200-foot setback zone—but it’s much cheaper for oil companies to continue operating them than to plug them. AB 2716 will change that. It creates a $10,000-per-day penalty for operating a low-producing well within the setback zone.

Last but definitely not least—ask your assemblymember to vote YES on this key green amendment to the state constitution:

• ACA 16 will add “The people shall have a right to clean air and water and a healthy environment” to our state’s governing document. If ACA 16 passes both houses in the legislature, it will be on the November ballot. Adding this sentence to the constitution will make a big difference in the outcome of environmental lawsuits. ACA 16 will require a 2/3 vote to pass because it is an amendment.  

Here’s a suggested message for your assemblymember:

“My name is _________, and I live in __________. As a constituent, I’m urging the assemblymember to vote YES on five very important climate bills:

• AB 3233 to affirm the right of cities and counties to ban oil and gas production
• AB 3155 to hold oil companies accountable for the health harms they’ve caused,
• AB 1866 to make oil companies plug their idle wells
• AB 2716 to end pollution from low-producing wells, and
• ACA 16 to add the right to a healthy environment to our constitution.

Phone numbers

That’s it! Our elected officials work for us—let’s tell them to vote in our interest, not the oil industry’s!

Help send a climate champion to Sacramento

350 Bay Area Action has endorsed Jovanka Beckles for the Senate! She’s running for the District 7 seat currently held by Nancy Skinner, whose term ends this year. This district, formerly District 9, includes the western part of Contra Costa County.

Your help is needed to get Jovanka elected. It could make a big difference! Visit her campaign website to learn more.

Vetting the candidates—your help needed!

Here’s a great way to help put climate champions in office! Learn how to identify the most climate-forward candidates in local government races (mainly city council seats).

As a 350 Contra Costa Action volunteer, you’ll be helping to pick the candidates we endorse and work to elect in 2024.

Training on how to vet candidates is planned for late June or early July. July and August will be the key time to get information from potential endorsees—this will only take a few hours, but it’s very important work.

Let’s get climate champions elected in cities and towns across the county! To find out more, email info@350contracostaaction.org.

Thank you,

Emily and Lisa