Press release from multiple organizations
This legislative session was marred by significant deregulation and increased government handouts to the most polluting industries in the state, from Big Oil to massive manufacturing facilities, led by California’s own state Democratic leaders: Governor Newsom, Speaker Rivas and Pro Tem McGuire. Many of the high-profile environmental bills this session were negotiated behind closed doors with only leadership in the room, like SB 131 and SB 237, making it difficult, if not impossible, for community advocates, average Californians, and even other state legislators to weigh in.
Despite clear public commitments by legislative leaders to pass clean up legislation on SB 131 before the end of session, pressure from more than 230 advocate groups, and the urging of 35 legislators, none materialized this session. SB 131 – a bill that rolled back environmental protections from virtually all new manufacturing and production facilities in California and undercut critical endangered species protections – remains virtually unchanged, still eliminating tribal consultation, community input, and environmental regulation for some of the most toxic heavy industrial plants in the state, including mining, nuclear processing, refineries, metal shredding, waste incineration, chemical manufacturing, A.I.-based manufacturing, and semiconductor manufacturing, which created 23 toxic Superfund cleanup sites in Santa Clara County alone – the most in any county in the nation.
“Thanks to California democratic leaders, corporations can now build extremely hazardous manufacturing facilities that handle explosive gases and toxic materials next door to homes and schools with no environmental review or public notification,” said Asha Sharma, State Policy Manager at Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. “This legislative session, we’ve seen California legislative leaders turn their back on their constituents and values like environmental stewardship and equity, to side instead with megapolluters. It’s incredibly disappointing to see such a sudden shift.”
“It was outrageous that the legislature exempted some of the most impactful types of facilities – including toxic disposal facilities – from California’s landmark environmental review requirements with nearly no public process or discourse three months ago,” said Nick Lapis, Director of Advocacy at Californians Against Waste. “Now the legislature is set to adjourn without following through on its commitment to clean up SB 131, and there will be real, ongoing pollution impacts on California communities.”
“It’s deeply disappointing that our legislative leaders failed to deliver on their commitment to cleaning up rushed legislation that will have disastrous consequences for frontline communities and endangered species,” said Jakob Evans, Senior Policy Strategist at Sierra Club California. “At a time when environmental regulations are being slashed by the Trump administration, California should be stepping up to protect our people and ecosystems, not offering handouts to polluting industries. Adjourning without addressing these mistakes will have severe consequences for our state’s public health and position as a leader on climate change.”
This session also included significant new corporate giveaways to Big Oil. The Legislature and Governor Newsom are still negotiating with the oil industry around financial incentives and regulatory giveaways in an attempt to prevent global consolidation. Meanwhile, SB 237 removes environmental and community protections from oil drilling in Kern county – the epicenter of state’s oil and gas drilling that experiences the worst pollution in the nation. Legislative leaders and Governor Newsom also rejected the environmental justice community’s request to ensure ARB’s Community Air Protection Program actually reduces pollution, as part of Cap-and-Trade reauthorization.
“At a time when our state, and frankly the country, need progressive leadership the most, Governor Newsom, Speaker Rivas and Pro Tem McGuire acquiesced to Big Oil and massively deregulated the industry,” said Dan Ress, Senior Attorney at the Center on Race, Poverty, & the Environment. “SB 237 guts environmental protections for Kern County communities when there is no evidence that those actions will do anything to stabilize supply or lower gas prices. This will open the door to even more life-threatening pollution in the most polluted communities in the country, while locking in decades of climate disasters across the state.”
“This bill’s wrongheaded approach acknowledges the harms of oil drilling yet takes radical steps to boost it,” said Hollin Kretzmann, Senior Attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute. “Removing environmental safeguards won’t reverse the terminal decline of California oil production but it will allow the industry to do more damage on its way out the door. This bill would mean more air, water and greenhouse gas pollution while having no impact on refinery closures or gas prices.”
Further, many of the environmental justice and environmental communities’ biggest legislative priority bills failed to cross the finish line in 2025. These bills include SB 350 (Durazo), which would have established a low-income water rate assistance program; AB 914 (Garcia), which would have regulated transportation climate emissions; and SB 674 (Menjivar) and AB 1243 (Addis), which would have created a Polluters Pay Climate Superfund and are now 2-year bills.
“Environmental justice communities – mostly all low-income communities of color – have been shamelessly targeted as sacrifice zones for the benefit of industry profit and for the benefit of whiter and wealthier communities,” said Rabeya Sen, Equitable Land Use Director at California Environmental Justice Alliance Action. “They have always been expected to bear the brunt of any fallout from the climate, economic, and housing crises in the name of progress. But, ‘progress for whom?’ we ask, because the result is a cynical bid to excuse the continuation of policies of environmental racism. Our communities deserve better, and we will continue working with our members and allies (both grassroots and legislative) to fight for environmental justice.”
Despite these significant setbacks, environmental groups will push for a positive shift next session. Getting the state back on track to actually being the environmental and climate leader it claims to be and addressing this year’s safety and environmental failures will be a top priority.
“While this legislative session had many disappointments from our perspective, we have seen new leadership emerge in the Legislature – members that are willing to push for environmental and community protections even when it’s not popular with legislative leadership,” said Natalie S. Brown, Environmental Policy Advocate at Planning and Conservation League. “We look forward to working with these members in future years to ensure California leaders do not backslide on their commitments to their constituents to protect the environment, public health, and vulnerable communities.”
