Thank Governor Newsom for prioritizing consumer protections and industrial decarbonization

The first bill Governor Newsom signed brings relief for Californians across the state facing skyrocketing energy bills. California became the seventh state in the nation to prevent for-profit utilities from forcing customers to foot the bill for their advertising and lobbying costs. This legislation came together after investigations into monopoly utilities SoCalGas and PG&E revealed that these corporations attempted to slip millions of dollars in inappropriate expenses into Californians’ utility bills. The California Ratepayer Protection Act works by increasing transparency and requiring regulators to impose penalties if the utilities break the law.

The second bill Governor Newsom signed into law is a victory for healthier communities, strong labor standards, and more efficient industrial equipment in California. California is home to the nation’s largest manufacturing sector — employing over 1.2 million people. It’s also our second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions after transportation. Our manufacturing facilities need to be upgraded with zero-emissions equipment, and this law creates incentives for companies to swap out polluting fossil-fuel industrial equipment with more efficient options like heat pumps.

Governor Newsom also vetoed a bill that would have tied Southern California air regulators’ hands and made it more difficult to improve air quality in the state’s most polluted communities. We’re thankful for the tireless efforts of environmental justice advocates who led the effort to kill this dangerous bill.

Earthjustice is standing up in Sacramento because we believe good policy will ensure California moves forward with the rest of the world.

Take a moment and thank Governor Newsom for signing these commonsense bills into law and for vetoing legislation that would have made it more difficult to shape clean air policies in the nation’s smog capital.