PCL’s Capital Insider – August 25, 2026

PCL’s Capital Insider for August 25, 2026

End of Session Legislative Update

Without fail, the last two weeks of the legislative session are always chaotic. From last-minute budget trailer bills to gut-and-amend legislation that hasn’t been given committee review, and as always, the arduous task of passing good measures and killing bad ones. As we write and publish this Capital Insider, PCL is making the rounds to dozens of Capitol offices to convince members to cast the most responsible votes for their constituents and California’s communities.

We are also asking you to help us by taking action to oppose the California Forever boondoggle and support the passage of SB 954 to protect communities’ right to know and fix the toxic industrial loophole enacted under SB 131 last year

Potential Budget Deals we could still see this week:

California Forever: Efforts continue to build a city of 400 thousand people, a manufacturing hub, and a shipyard on important wetlands and agricultural land in Solano County despite local opposition. This week, a draft bill proposal surfaced that would bypass voter approval requirements for the shipyard expansion and severely limit further environmental review of the project.

The bill has not yet been officially published (you can read a draft shared by Solano County here), but don’t hesitate to contact your legislators now to urge them to reject this proposal! Click here to sign the petition.

Coastal Act Exemption: It has also been reported that a last-minute proposal is being circulated that would exempt the Santa Monica coastal zone from the Coastal Act. This bill has not yet been published either, but don’t hesitate to contact your legislators now to urge them to reject last-minute budget deals that circumvent the Coastal Act!

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and SB 1216 (Laird):

Earlier this year, the Air Resources Board updated the Cap-and-Trade program rules to provide a significant amount of emission allowances for the petroleum industry and other heavy-emitting sectors without having to pay into the cap. These credits would reduce GGRF revenue to about $2 billion, roughly half the amount raised in recent years, leaving little to no funding for “Tier 3” programs (Affordable Housing Sustainable Communities, Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, Community Air Protection Program, Low Carbon Transit Operations Program, Wildfire and Forest Resilience, and Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Program). Senator Laird’s bill, SB 1216, now represents the Senate’s proposal to partially backfill funding for these critical programs and is widely supported by the environmental and environmental justice community.

Top PCL bills still in play:

SB 954 (Blakespear) SUPPORT: SB 131 (2025) advanced manufacturing CEQA exemption fix: 

SB 954, the SB 131 clean-up bill that fulfills legislative commitments to fix the toxic industrial loophole enacted under SB 131 last year, has made it through Assembly Appropriations and is on its way to the Assembly Floor. SB 954 narrows the definition of “advanced manufacturing” to ensure the most harmful projects currently covered by the definition – projects like strip mining, chemical production, and hazardous waste incineration – still go through the CEQA process. 

The bill also seeks to restore habitat protections lost under SB 131. The preferred habitat restrictions were weakened for the parts of the bill regarding housing, but PCL and a huge coalition of environmental and environmental justice organizations still strongly support this bill and are working hard to get it across the finish line.

Please take action by clicking here and Urge Your Assemblymember to Protect Our Community from Toxic Pollution by Voting for SB 954!

SB 1087 (Cabaldon) SUPPORT: SB 375 (2008) update

SB 375 mandated for the first time anywhere that our Regional Transportation Plans, required under the Federal Clean Air Act, must also include a corresponding land use strategy, in an effort to reduce GHG emissions by bringing jobs, housing, and services closer together. 

For almost two years, PCL, ClimatePlan, and many partners have been deeply involved in conversations with regional planning agencies and a wide spectrum of stakeholders, including state agencies, local governments, and the development community, to figure out how to update this historic legislation. And while there were many concerns with earlier iterations of this bill, after many months of meetings and negotiations, we feel the final bill will be a positive step forward for regional planning. PCL strongly supports SB 1087 and appreciates the efforts of all involved in getting the bill to where it is today.

SB 1423 (Stern) PCL SPONSOR: Climate hazard and Sensitive natural/working land spatial database

SB 1423 is a gut-and-amend bill that emerged from several years of discussions about how to equip local and regional planners with the land use policies and tools they need to plan for growth while keeping their communities safe and resilient to climate change impacts. This bill directs the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) to create an online consolidated platform including core datasets covering climate hazards (wildfire, flood, sea level rise), natural resource sensitivity (wetlands, biodiversity, protected lands), and agricultural value (prime farmland, Williamson Act lands).    

Some building industry organizations have opposed the bill, claiming it will hurt housing, but SB 1423 does not create regulatory mandates or impose any restrictions on land use. It simply creates an accessible resource to support local governments in better understanding the conditions of their land and potential conflicts earlier in the planning process.  

Other important bills still in play:

AB 2218 (Kalra) – SUPPORT

AB 2218 creates a statewide policy that addresses water-related inequities and longstanding harm endured by the indigenous people of California through financial assistance, protection of tribal water uses, consultation on water projects, plans and policies, and incorporation of indigenous knowledge when developing strategies to restore and protect ecosystems. 

SB 872 (McNerney) – SUPPORT 

SB 872 establishes the Delta Levees and Canal Subsidence Fund to support aging Delta Levee improvements and subsidence repair along the state’s conveyance infrastructure.  

SB1085 (Durazo) – SUPPORT

SB 1085 restores the requirement that cities and counties approving large-scale housing projects must identify a water system that would serve the project and complete a water supply assessment, even if the project is exempt from CEQA. 

SB 1250 (Cortese) – SUPPORT

SB 1250 requires Caltrans, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to create an inventory of connectivity needs on the state highway system where wildlife passage projects could effectively reduce wildlife-vehicle collisions and enhance wildlife connectivity. 

AB 2494 (Rogers) – SUPPORT

AB 2494 redefines “management” for California’s Demonstration State Forest system to further prioritize biodiversity, climate resilience, restoration, research, recreation, and tribal co-management of the demonstration forests, and veer away from extractive logging priorities that were originally established in 1947.  

AB 40 (Bonta) – SUPPORT 

AB 40 requires a full environmental review under CEQA before any local agency can approve the handling, storage, or export of high volumes of coal (≥5 million short tons/year). This bill is a gut-and-amend in response to the Trump administration’s proposed West Oakland coal project, set to begin operation in 2028 despite any proper environmental review.

AB 1448 (Hart) – SUPPORT

In response to the Trump administration’s plans to expand offshore drilling into federal waters off the coast of California, AB 1448 prohibits the use of existing oil and gas infrastructure on California’s coast from new offshore leases.   

AB 2469/AB 2619 (Papan) – SUPPORT

AB 2469 prohibits the approval of a data center within a city and/or county if it results in an increase in the maximum peak water use, unless the applicant provides a water scarcity plan and water supply assessment. 

AB 2619 requires the owner or operator of a data center to provide its water supplier with an estimate of the expected water use, anticipated source of water, and project water use volume prior to applying for an initial business license or permits. 

These bills, like many others aimed at Data Centers, have been somewhat weakened through the process, but we feel 2469 and 2619 remain worthy of support.

SB 883 (Umberg) – SUPPORT

SB 883 is a gut-and-amend bill in response to the GKN aerospace manufacturing plant near-explosion in Garden Grove, Orange County. It creates safeguards for similar chemical plants sited near communities and removes such facilities from the advanced manufacturing exemption under SB 131. 

SB 994 (Cabaldon) – SUPPORT

SB 994 prohibits a local official from entering into nondisclosure agreements related to public business that prevent the sharing of information with fellow local government officials. This bill was signed by the Governor on August 21st. 

SB 1125 (Menjivar) – SUPPORT 

SB 1125 requires the State Water Resources Control Board to establish a Water Rate Assistance Program to support low-income residential ratepayers with their water bills.