PRESS RELEASE: Senator Laird Statement on SB 1020 (Clean Energy Jobs and Affordability Act of 2022) in Senate Appropriations

Contact: Richard Stapler

Richard.Stapler@sen.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO – Today, Senator John Laird (D – Santa Cruz), Chair of the Senate Working Group on Climate Change, presented Senate Bill 1020, The Clean Energy Jobs and Affordability Act of 2022 in the Senate Appropriations committee.

The bill is a product of months of collaboration by the Senate Working Group to meet the challenges of climate change, adaptation, and resiliency through an equitable lens.

“SB 1020 is intended to bring new near-term rigor to California’s landmark electricity sector clean energy and zero carbon targets, to focus on the affordability of meeting those targets, and to make other changes to law needed to meet our state’s ambitious climate goals,” said Laird.

“The bill has three main components; it adds interim targets to the policy framework originally established in SB 100[1], requires state agencies to rely on 100% renewable energy and zero-carbon resources to serve their own facilities by 2030, and establishes a Climate and Equity Trust fund to address rising electricity rates that threaten the affordability of basic service and undermine the economics of beneficial building and transportation electrification.”

SB 1020 is jointly authored by Senate pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), all members of the Senate Working Group and others.

Today the bill moved to the suspense file where it will be heard next in Senate Appropriations on May 16th to secure passage to the Senate Floor. You will be able to find Senator Laird’s presentation of SB 1020 at the following link:

https://www.senate.ca.gov/media-archive.

[1] *(De Leon, Chapter 312, Statutes of 2018)

 

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Senator John Laird represents the 17th State Senate District, which includes all of Santa Cruz and San Luis Obispo counties, the majority of Monterey County, as well as parts of Santa Clara County. He previously served as the Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, member of the State Integrated Waste Management Board, a member of the State Assembly, Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Aids Project, and two terms as Santa Cruz Mayor. His lifetime of public service and social justice advocacy saw him become one of the first openly gay mayors to serve in the United States. Senator Laird has been a long-time resident of Santa Cruz with his spouse John Flores.

 

 


[1] *(De Leon, Chapter 312, Statutes of 2018)