PCL’s Capital Insider – January 2026

PCL’s Capital Insider for January 2026

2026 California Environmental Assembly

Saturday, January 31st, 2026

In the Name of Climate: Environmental and Community Protection in a Warming World

Click Here To Buy Tickets!

PCL’s 2026 Assembly will focus on the existential threats of the day – building the housing we need where we need it, managing groundwater sustainably, and reducing the climate change impacts of transportation. In addition, we will highlight key debates in our plenary sessions that shape the environment we live in, and we work in – including the recent CEQA exemptions for advanced manufacturing, the abundance debate, and a conversation with mayors, current and former, on local initiatives to inspire state action.

Join us as we explore cutting-edge solutions for environmental policies to address the drivers of climate change: land use, transportation, energy production, and technological developments. PCL strongly believes we are already experiencing the catastrophic impacts of the climate crisis. Our panels explore immediate short-term solutions and strategies for the future.

Where: UC Davis School of Law  (Directions link), Location & Parking Map– PDF ) 

The California Environmental Law & Policy Center’s generous offer to host the gathering makes our return to King Hall possible! PCL is especially proud of the Assembly Scholarship program, which invites college students and recent graduates to attend. To learn more, email us at events@pcl.org.

2026 Assembly Sessions

Morning Plenary Session
9:00 am to 10:45 am

Local Innovations Inspire State Actions: A Mayoral Conversation

There is a long and rich history of California’s cities and communities leading important policy and environmental protections. Many of these have led to state action to address critical needs for community health and environmental protection. Where do we turn to for action today, with a collapse or outright withdrawal of leadership at the federal level, and state leaders left in a hard place between interests peddling an abundance narrative and protecting the communities they are elected to serve?

Join us for a conversation with a panel of experts – current and former mayors with state legislative experience.

Moderator: Roger Dickinson, Sacramento City Council and former State Assembly Member and County Supervisor

Panelists:

Martha Guerrero, Mayor of West Sacramento

Darrell Steinberg, Former Mayor of Sacramento, State Senator and Senate President pro-tempore, State Assembly Member, and City Council Member

Morning Breakout Sessions
11:00 am to 12:45 pm

Status of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA): What’s Working and What’s Not?

SGMA was passed in 2014, prescribing a path to comprehensively regulate groundwater in California for the first time. In that time Sustainable Groundwater Agencies for each of California’s groundwater basins have been formed, and the first round of management plans for those basins have been developed. Yet after a decade since SGMA was passed, questions remain about the efficacy of these plans and how they are governed. This panel will examine what has worked well so far for SGMA implementation, and what hasn’t, and what changes may still be needed for the process.

Moderator: Pablo Garza, Chief Consultant, California State Assembly, Committee on Water, Parks & Wildlife

Panelists:
Bridget Gibbons, Groundwater Project Director, California Water Program at The Nature Conservancy
Kyle Jones, Principal, Lepe Jones Consulting
Ryan Ojakian, Manager of Government Relations, Sacramento Regional Water Authority
Sarge Green, Research Scientist, California Water Institute
Kristin Sicke, General Manager, Yolo Subbasin Groundwater Agency

Updating The Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008: Where Do We Go From Here?

SB 375 passed in 2008 as a first-of-its-kind climate law that revolutionized the coordination of land use and transportation planning in California, in an effort to reduce distances between jobs, housing, and services and, in turn, reduce driving as needed to meet State GHG reduction mandates. Since then, the state’s regions have produced innovative plans to meet these climate targets, while also preserving natural and working lands, improving public health outcomes, and providing more equitable access to opportunity—but 17 years later, land use patterns and transportation investments have largely followed the status quo, and driving has continued to increase in all regions of the state.

There is a brewing conversation in the Capitol about the need for 375 reforms, and this panel will examine the ways we could get the law to work and finally realize the outcomes our regional plans envision.

Moderator: Dr. Amy Lee, Postdoctoral Researcher, Institute of Transportation Studies, UC Davis

Panelists:
Jeanie Ward-Waller, Director of Transportation Advocacy, Fearless Advocacy
Chanell Fletcher, Deputy Executive Officer – Equity, Communities & Environmental Justice, California Air Resources Board
Kacey Lizon, Deputy Executive Director for Planning and Programs, Sacramento Area Council of Governments
Phoebe Seaton, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability

California’s Affordable Housing Crisis: How Can the State Get a Grip? 

California’s affordable housing crisis remains one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Even as the state’s population declines, the demand for housing far outpaces supply. Legislative efforts have sought to accelerate development—streamlining environmental review, encouraging density near transit, and penalizing jurisdictions that fail to meet housing targets.  Yet the gap persists. Policies such as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) have struggled to deliver meaningful progress, and critics argue they have sometimes pushed development into unsafe or environmentally vulnerable areas.

This panel will take a hard look at what it will take for California to close the affordability gap while ensuring that new housing is built in climate‑resilient, sustainable locations. Panelists will explore:

• Why past policies have fallen short
• How to balance affordability, equity, and environmental responsibility
• What strategies can realistically move the needle on housing supply
• The role of local governments, regional planning, and state oversight

Join us for a candid discussion on how California can reset its housing agenda and chart a path toward a more affordable, resilient future.

Moderator: Terry Watt, Principal, Terrell Watt Planning Consultants & PCL Board of Directors

Panelists:
Cara Lacey, Program Director in the Climate Program, The Nature Conservancy
Ken Alex, Director, Project Climate, UC Berkeley Center for Law, Energy & the Environment
James Corless, Executive Director, Sacramento Area Council of Governments
Ethan Elkind, Director, Climate Program, UC Berkeley Center for Law, Energy & the Environment

Keynote Address & Lunch
Starting at 1:00 pm

California State Senator Christopher Cabaldon

Mid-day Plenary Session
1:45 pm to 3:00 pm

CEQA Exemptions For Advanced Manufacturing – What Could Go Wrong?

The new State Budget Language exempts “advanced manufacturing” from CEQA, a category broad enough to include chemical recycling, strip mining, metal forging, and a range of other heavy industrial facilities. Panelists will address the potential negative environmental impacts of advanced manufacturing, the pollution burdens faced by environmental justice communities across the state, and possible paths to mitigate the expected local and regional impacts of this exemption.

Moderator: Bernadette Austin, Chief Executive Officer of CivicWell (Bio pending)

Panelists:
Asha Sharma, State Policy Manager, Leadership Council for Justice & Accountability
Lenny Siegel, President of the Pacific Studies Center and former Mayor of Mountain View
Aaron Vad, Chief of Staff, Office of Senator Damon Connolly

Afternoon Plenary Session
3:15 pm to 5:00 pm

Abundance and Accountability: Are Communities, Democracy, and the Environment At Risk?

This panel will explore how the Abundance Agenda of reduced regulatory controls, supposedly in the name of infrastructure and other priorities, does not necessarily result in better outcomes. Instead, the Abundance framework described in the book “Abundance” has been co-opted too often to dismantle necessary environmental protections for communities and wielded as a cudgel against common-sense regulations promoting growth with equity. The California Legislature’s rollback of environmental protections in the summer of 2025- under the influence of the philosophy- was unprecedented and may be a possible prelude to more in upcoming years statewide and nationally. This panel will describe the current state of affairs and outline a path to restoring environmental protections, safeguarding democracy, and promoting equity.

Moderator: Doug Carstens, Managing Partner, Carstens, Black & Minteer LLP & President, PCL Board of Directors

Panelists:
Ebony Twilley Martin, Founder, The Regenerative Leadership Lab & former CEO of Greenpeace USA
Asha Sharma, State Policy Manager, Leadership Council for Justice & Accountability
Jennifer Ganata, Legal Department Co-Director, Communities for a Better Environment
Dylan Gyauch-Lewis, Senior Researcher, Revolving Door Project
Corey Brown, Resources Legacy Fund (retired)
Gregory Weaver, Environment Reporter, Fresnoland

Assembly Reception
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm

Thank You To Our 2026 Sponsors!

To find out how to become a sponsor, please download our
2026 PCL Assembly Sponsor Packet

Co-Hosts

California Environmental Law and Policy Center, King Hall, UC Davis

Gold Sponsors

Carstens, Black & Minteer LLP
National Wildlife Federation
Sage Sweetwood

Silver Sponsors

East Bay Municipal Utility District
Rachel Hooper & Peter Zingg
Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger LLP

Bronze Sponsors

Center For Biological Diversity
Green California
Kevin Johnson
SMUD

Emerging Sponsors

Andy Sawyer & Carol Bingham
Environmental Law Society, UC Davis

Contributing Sponsors

Mono Lake Committee
Soluri Meserve