Daily Journal: South San Francisco has seen an increase in catalytic converter thefts, up to one per day on average, Police Chief Scott Campbell reported this week during a town hall...Campbell, joined by Mayor Mark Nagales and state Sen. Josh Becker, “Unfortunately, the state is now the number one state in the country for catalytic converter thefts,” Becker said. “These thefts are extremely costly, as some of you unfortunately now know.”
In the News
Lawmakers debate clean energy substitutes to remove fossil fuels from strained California power grid
Courthouse News Service: California soon will not have enough energy to meet future demand and prevent outages on an increasingly strained power grid, in part due to climate change. To address the looming disaster, state lawmakers met Tuesday to discuss how to decrease reliance on fossil fuels to protect the grid from the effects of destructive wildfires and supply chain issues. The state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications subcommittee chair Senator Josh Becker, a Democrat from San Mateo who has written multiple climate action bills, said extreme heat is expected to escalate strain on the power grid and the state must balance using cleaner energy sources with ensuring grid reliability. “Climate change is anticipated to make the summer conditions more intense and frequent,” Becker said, adding more heat waves with less hydroelectric energy threaten transmission lines every year.
NBC Bay Area: California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to speed up the state’s transition to non-carbon electricity sources and accelerate its timeline for lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Those are among the proposals the Democratic governor has delivered to lawmakers as they work to hash out how to spend $19.3 billion set aside for climate in the state budget. “Meeting our goals of 100% clean electricity by 2045 is still the key component in fighting climate change and in preventing these weather conditions in the first place,” said State Sen. Josh Becker, a Democrat and chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Subcommittee on Clean Energy Future.
Daily Journal: A proposed bill requiring law enforcement agencies to not fully encrypt radio communications to ensure public access is now in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, with bill author state Sen. Josh Becker, D-San Mateo, working to ensure passage.
Politico: The tension between grid reliability and clean energy will be the subject of a hearing this morning in the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Energy Future, chaired by Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park). The subcommittee will hear from energy and clean power experts, including the California Independent System Operator, as it looks for an “initial policy toolkit of renewable solutions to maintain grid reliability.”
KCRA: Senator Josh Becker, chair of the Senate Subcommittee on Clean Energy Future, is holding a hearing today to speak about grid reliability during extreme heat events.
Davis Vanguard: SB 922 was passed on Monday by the State Assembly. SB 922 extends and improves upon Senator Wiener’s previous legislation (SB 288, 2020) to expedite bike, pedestrian, light rail, and rapid bus projects by exempting these environmentally sustainable projects from the California Environmental Quality Act .SB 922 is sponsored by SPUR, the Bay Area Council, LA Metro, the California Transit Association and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. Assemblymembers Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) and Devon Mathis (D-Porterville) are principal co-authors of SB 922, and Senator Josh Becker (D-San Mateo) and Assemblymembers Tasha Boerner Horvath (D-Encinitas) and Phillip Chen (R-Brea) are co-authors.
Daily Journal: Sacramento lawmakers have the ability to make community college free for thousands of San Mateo County students. State Sen. Josh Becker, D-San Mateo, authored and Assemblymembers Kevin Mullin, D-South San Francisco, and Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, have co-authored Senate Bill 893 which allows the San Mateo County Community College District to use existing local funds to reduce or eliminate the cost of attendance and cover other educational expenses for students in need such as text books, housing and transportation.