Becker’s legislative package moves California’s forward towards achieving a greener, cleaner and more affordable economy
SACRAMENTO, CA— Today State Senator Josh Becker (D- Menlo Park) applauded Governor Newsom’s announcement that he has signed his legislation that would implement sweeping climate change policies that promote clean energy, resiliency, and the green economy. These bills invest in sustainable clean energy infrastructure, create billions in potential investment in clean projects, and transition California to zero-emission.
“We are facing an unprecedented climate crisis with extreme weather causing irreparable harm and even death. The time to act is now,” said Senator Becker. “With the Governor’s signature on my comprehensive climate legislation, we are continuing to keep California on track to lead the world on implementing policies that will ensure a secure, efficient and green electric grid while addressing the contributing factors of catastrophic climate change on our environment and vulnerable communities.”
On Saturday, October 7, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that he had signed the following bills authored by Senator Becker:
Large buildings are a massive contributor of emissions, causing more than 20 million tons of CO2 per year. We already have strong regulations on new buildings, but now we need the courage to tackle older, large buildings. This bill strikes the right balance to get buildings where they need to be in order to reduce emissions and create clean, safe and comfortable places to work and live. While improving the carbon footprint of these large buildings, this bill is also projected to generate over $35 billion of economic activity in cumulative investment by 2040.
This bill tackles one of the greatest needs and the greatest limiting factors when it comes to our clean energy goals: more space for solar panels and transmission lines. SB 49 utilizes an untapped resource, the unused land along our highways that the state of California already owns, so we can build more solar and transmit clean energy to our cities. Three Southern California counties alone have the potential to host 960 MW of new solar generation, enough to power 270,000 homes annually.
California is suffering from an unacceptable and unnecessary backlog of interconnections. As more homes and businesses are built, and as they switch over to climate-friendly electric appliances, the upgrades needed to the electricity distribution system continue – and will continue – to grow. The current backlog in distribution improvements can range anywhere from six months to one year in some areas of the state. The Powering Up California Act addresses this backlog by holding utilities like PG&E accountable to accelerate improvements to the electric grid and improve the capacity of energy distribution so that households and small businesses can connect their clean energy appliances to the grid.
These bills advance California’s commitment to addressing climate change, protects residents from its disastrous effects such as wildfires, extreme climate, and drought, and keeps our state on a path towards creating green jobs.
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Senator Becker represents the 13th Senate District covering portions of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties and includes the cities of Atherton, Belmont, Brisbane, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Foster City, Half Moon Bay, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Mountain View, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, South San Francisco, and Woodside.