[Source: USA TODAY] A controversial piece of legislation passed the California Senate late Tuesday evening, codifying and clarify a landmark state Supreme Court decision that limits whether companies can classify their workers as independent contractors. Expected to have wide-reaching implications that resonate across the country — including posing an existential crisis for businesses built with independent, on-demand labor — the Read More…
Newsroom
California considering toughest plastic pollution laws in United States
[Source: The Mercury News] With enormous and ever-growing amounts of plastic washing into oceans, rivers and lakes around the world, California lawmakers this week are considering passing the nation’s most far-reaching laws to reduce plastic pollution over the next decade. Three bills before the state Legislature would require companies that sell products widely found in Read More…
More states hitting electric vehicle owners with high fees
[Source: Consumer Reports] A number of states are charging electric-vehicle owners fees that experts and consumer advocates say are higher than what the drivers of equivalent gas-powered vehicles are paying in gas taxes, potentially discouraging an important environmentally friendly technology. Almost all states have gasoline taxes to help pay for transportation projects, and electric-vehicle owners Read More…
The limits of clean energy
[Source: FOREIGN POLICY] If the world isn’t careful, renewable energy could become as destructive as fossil fuels. The conversation about climate change has been blazing ahead in recent months. Propelled by the school climate strikes and social movements like Extinction Rebellion, a number of governments have declared a climate emergency, and progressive political parties are Read More…
Some sectors warn that AB5 could hurt workers, raise prices
[Source: SFGATE] As California moves forward with legislation that could turn many independent contractors into employees, some industries are vociferously protesting that the changes could hurt their workers and raise costs for consumers. Assembly Bill 5, sponsored by Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego, saw its chances of becoming law rise this week when Gov. Gavin Read More…
Why renewables can’t save the climate
[Source: Forbes / Michael Shellenberger] Democratic presidential candidates may disagree on a lot, but they all agree that the solution to climate change is the expansion of renewable energy, particularly solar and wind. Some candidates see a role for nuclear. Sen. Cory Booker and businessman Andrew Yang have called for new plants, while former Vice Read More…
Not subject to Air Resources Board jurisdiction? You will be very soon
[Source: CalChamber] Do you get deliveries to your business? I expect you do. Under a new rule being considered by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), you may be subject to onerous reporting requirements under CARB’s Advanced Clean Trucks program even if you do not own or lease a single truck. This reporting requirement is Read More…
Senate Bill 1 continues to move through the California Legislature
[Source: AGNet West] Last week California Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) continued with its forward momentum, advancing from the California Assembly Appropriations Committee by a vote of 13 to five. The legislation that some environmental groups are referring to as ‘Trump insurance’ is now headed to the California Assembly floor. The California Environmental, Public Health, and Read More…
California’s recycling bills propose dramatic new rules
[Source: CalMatters] With plastic packaging heading to landfills and recycling centers shutting down, California lawmakers use a trio of bills to take aim at the stuttering recycling economy. As bills that take aim at plastic waste make their way through California’s legislature, the damage they intend to fix already is rippling through the state’s recycling Read More…