Protect Communities, Transform Policy
The past year of legislation saw massive victories for environmental justice communities: we defended our rights to healthy neighborhoods through oil and gas setbacks, codified local governments’ authority to restrict oil and gas pollution, and accelerated the cleanup of idle oil wells. The California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) is proud of the tireless advocacy from our communities that led to these wins, and we’re looking to pass even more exciting legislation in 2025.
Download the full 2024 Scorecard here!
But, following the disastrous results of the presidential election,
a truth has become abundantly clear: we need to do better. Once again, California is called to stand as a leader of progressive resistance. Moderate reform is not the path forward. In order to truly protect our communities against the rising tide of fascism, we need a transformative change in policies powered by community- led solutions.
We need to boldly invest our time, our resources, and our capital in the neighborhoods that have suffered the most from generations of negligence and toxic pollution.
Top of the Class
For over a decade, CEJA has been the only organization that scores the votes and advocacy of California’s lawmakers solely on environmental justice priorities. This year, we’re thrilled to celebrate the two lawmakers who scored 100% or higher.
CEJA is also pleased to recognize the legislators who continued to champion our issues by crafting community aligned amendments as committee chairs, bringing their leadership to key issues, and authoring our priority bill. Please join us in celebrating Assemblymember Isaac Bryan, Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, and Senator Lena Gonzalez.
Environmental Justice Wins in 2024
Of the eight bills CEJA advocated for and scored in 2024, we’re thrilled that seven were signed into law. Those were:
AB 218 (Gabriel) – providing resources for the implementation of SB 1137 (Gonzalez) that will create a 3,200-ft buffer between oil wells and homes, schools, or places of worship.
AB 1118 (Eggman) – creating an important pathway for California’s tribal communities to participate in Solar on Multifamily Affordable Housing (SOMAH) and ensure economic benefits for all tenants.
AB 1864 (Connolly) – protecting all children from pesticide drift while at school or daycare by updating the existing regulation to include common sense reporting changes and extending the protections to K-12 private schools.
AB 1866 (Hart) – requiring oil operators to develop a comprehensive plan to expeditiously plug the estimated 40,000 idle oil wells in California within the next decade. The bill also requires operators to prioritize plugging wells within 3,200 feet of where communities live, play, and work.
AB 2684 (Bryan) – requiring local jurisdictions to address extreme heat in the safety element of their general plans or local hazard mitigation plans.
AB 3233 (Addis) – protecting local governments’ authority to restrict oil & gas pollution in their jurisdictions. The bill updates and clarifies existing law to affirm these rights, ensuring local governments can continue helping CA achieve its climate and public health goals.
SB 674 (Gonzalez) – creating a statewide standard for refinery fence-line monitoring to ensure that noxious pollutants are accurately measured.
SB 1187 (McGuire) – creating the Tribal Housing Grant Program Trust Fund for the construction and rehabilitation of rental and for-sale housing.
Oppose Bills
Unfortunately, of the bills we opposed and scored (AB 98, SB 1420), both were signed into law.
AB 98 (Carrillo) sets dangerously low standards for warehouse siting and operations that fail to protect communities most impacted by warehouse development and pollution.
SB 1420 (Caballero) adds hydrogen projects to the newly created expedited CEQA review process, and includes projects creating hydrogen from factory farm gas, taking away key protections for environmental justice communities by limiting public process regarding a highly flammable, dangerous gas.
Looking Forward to 2025
CEJA urges California lawmakers to connect with environmental justice communities: meet with our leaders, tour our homes, and understand that right now, perhaps more than ever, lives are on the line. The time for “business as usual” is over. California can inspire the nation again, but we have to do it together. Meet us at the table.