Focus
California bill would make fossil fuel companies help pay for rising insurance costs
Los Angeles Times – February 5
State legislation proposed this week, known as Senate Bill 982, the Affordable Insurance Recovery Act, would authorize California’s attorney general to sue fossil fuel companies to recover losses from climate-induced disasters experienced by insurance policyholders and the California Fair Plan Association, the state’s insurer of last resort. The funds would compensate policyholders for rising premiums and other expenses, including the cost of fire-proofing their properties. A spokesperson for the Western States Petroleum Association, an industry trade group, said the bill is bad public policy that would raise gas prices by essentially making oil and gas companies financially liable for every natural disaster impacting California.
News
New water legislation seeks to boost recycling, aid farms and ecosystems
The Sacramento Bee – February 5
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla has introduced two new bills aimed at easing California’s growing climate-driven water shortages and making water supplies more dependable across the state: the Making Our Communities Resilient through Enhancing Water for Agriculture, Technology, the Environment, and Residences Act (MORE WATER Act) and the Growing Resilient Operations from Water Savings and Municipal-Agricultural Reciprocally-beneficial Transactions Act (the GROW SMART Act). The MORE WATER Act would extend a key Bureau of Reclamation program created under the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that offers federal grants covering up to 25% of the cost of large water recycling projects in California and other Western states. The GROW SMART Act would establish a pilot program at the bureau to test new approaches to crop production and groundwater management, with $25 million over five years for projects that test “innovative” water‑saving technologies. Both bills have strong support from regional water agencies.
A long-awaited California water policy promises balance. Opponents call it an ‘extinction plan’
San Francisco Chronicle – February 4
California is on the cusp of adopting the Bay Delta Plan, which aims to moderate the amount of water that cities and farms draw from rivers and creeks, from Fresno to the Oregon border, to ensure enough is left to flow downstream to the Delta. At public hearings last week, scores of conservationists, fishermen, Delta residents and Native Americans critiqued the plan as doing too little to rein in water users. The Newsom administration, on the other hand, praised the plan as “even-handed,” and said it would leave enough water in rivers to help the Delta. The hearings provided opponents with a final opportunity to derail the policy, which state water regulators appear likely to approve later this year.
Farmworkers and advocates sue California regulators over carcinogenic pesticide
Monterey County Now – February 5
Two Monterey County residents and community groups on Monday sued the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) over regulations governing the use of 1,3-Dichloropropene (1,3-D), a carcinogenic fumigant. The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court, alleges in part that the regulations fail to consider exposure outside of working hours. DPR declined to comment as litigation is ongoing.
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