SACRAMENTO, CA — Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-West Hollywood/Santa Monica) today announced a series of bills aimed at meeting California's ambitious renewable energy goals and providing the critical infrastructure to incentivize solar, electric, and wind energy alternatives.
"Meeting the climate crisis requires bold action," said Assemblymember Zbur. "There is no time to waste as rising sea levels, hotter temperatures, and more severe storms demonstrate that climate action is needed to protect our planet and our way of life. One of my top priorities as your assemblymember is to transition California to a clean energy economy and away from dirty fossil fuels while at the same time retaining good jobs and protecting environmental and cultural resources. These three bills will make meaningful progress toward achieving our climate action goals by expanding offshore wind energy, using the expertise of our local governments to electrify communities, and providing people in affordable housing a chance to pair rooftop solar panels with batteries and reduce their electric bills."
The bills in Zbur's climate package include:
- AB 3: The California Offshore Wind & Jobs Advancement Act requires the California Energy Commission to study and recommend strategies for procuring energy, maximizing job opportunities for the state and creating pathways for developing port infrastructure to achieve our climate goals through offshore wind energy. Offshore wind energy is crucial to meeting renewable energy goals and potentially creating a significant number of high paying jobs across the state.
- AB 1176: Requiring Local Climate Action and Electrification Plans. This bill requires cities and local jurisdictions to create plans to meet their transportation and building electrification needs, and to ensure that chargers and building electrification is accessible to renters, multi-family housing residents, commercial vehicle and truck fleets, as well as disadvantaged communities. California will need more than one million chargers to support the eight million electric vehicles expected by 2030.
- AB 1181: Building Energy Resilience for Multi-Family Affordable Housing. This bill reduces barriers to solar and battery installation for participants in the Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) program and the Self Generation Incentive Program (SGIP) by modifying requirements of the programs and expanding eligibility for certain low-income residents. Overall, this bill will reduce electricity costs, and advance inmate goals for people living in affordable and multi-family housing.
In 2022, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1020, which puts the state on the path of achieving 90 percent renewable energy and zero-carbon electricity by the end of 2035 and 95 percent by the end of 2040, with the ultimate goal of 100 percent renewable energy by 2045. These bills will help the state meet these goals.
CONTACT: Vienna Montague (916) 319-2051, Vienna.Montague@asm.ca.gov