AB 2515: Removing Dangerous Chemicals from Our Most Intimate Products. The T.A.M.P.O.N. Act (Take All Menstrual Product PFAS Out Now), mandates the removal of toxic chemical from menstrual products. Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are linked to severe health problems, including breast and other cancers. Though California has moved to eliminate PFAS from products like cookware and children’s toys – our most intimate products are unregulated. Contaminated products end up in our landfills and wastewater, leaching PFAS into our watershed. California’s pursuit of gender equity and clean drinking water relies on urgent action to ensure that feminine hygiene products are safe, clean, and free from forever chemicals. AB 246 takes a critical step towards protecting not only women’s health but also the environment by requiring menstrual products to be free of PFAS.
AB 2123: Remove Unfair Barriers to Paid Family Leave Benefits. Californians will no longer be forced to use two weeks of accrued vacation before accessing PFL benefits. This commonsense improvement ensures that workers do not have to choose between their hard-earned and precious vacation time and caring for their loved ones during times of need.
AB 2842: Targets the proliferation of ghost guns. This law prohibits third-party gun destruction companies from reselling leftover gun parts following the destruction of the "firearm" mechanism. Ghost guns, which are untraceable firearms assembled from parts or kits without serial numbers, are proliferating at an alarming rate and are often used in criminal activities across California. The spread of these weapons has been partly fueled by the unethical practices of some firearm destruction companies, which, under current laws, are allowed to resell components of destroyed firearms leading to the assembly of new, untraceable guns.
AB 1359: Expanding Renewable Geothermal Energy in California. This law streamlines the development of geothermal energy projects by changing outdated provisions that have hindered geothermal exploration. Now, developers of geothermal energy projects can seek California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review for the drilling of exploratory wells for geothermal projects from the counties in which the projects are proposed rather than the California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM) which has been challenged due to resource constraints.
AB 1827: Protecting Water Consumers. The Low-Water User Protection Act ensures that water rates remain fair and proportional for all water users by addressing the growing need to protect low-water users from bearing the financial burden of higher water usage costs. Water infrastructure costs related to sourcing, distribution and treatment systems are a significant driver of water rates and require regular maintenance and capacity expansion if demand increases. The necessity for such investments are not necessarily proportional to usage, however. Assembly Bill 1827 affirms that water suppliers can factor such costs in developing rate structures so that low-water users are not unfairly penalized.
AB 1921: Expanding Renewable Energy Options. This law expands the definition of “renewable electrical generation facility” to include a facility that uses linear generators using Renewables Portfolio Standards (RPS)-eligible fuels. Including linear generators as a renewable energy tool will help California achieve important clean energy targets—including California’s RPS program to 60% by 2030 and generating all of California’s electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045.
AB 2037: Protecting Consumers. Local County Sealers of Weights and Measures are now authorized to test and certify the accuracy of municipally owned Electric Vehicle (EV) chargers so that consumers know they are getting what they pay for. Local County Sealers ensure accurate pricing for commodities including for electric vehicle chargers but previously did not have the authority to do so for publicly owned charging stations.
AB 2318: Ensuring Polluter Penalties Return to Impacted Communities. The State Water Board is now required to annually publish a report detailing the receipts and expenditures of the Cleanup and Abatement Account. AB 2318 will require the State Water Resources Control Board (the State Water Board) to publish a yearly report on the agency's website detailing the receipts into the Cleanup and Abatement Account (CAA) and the expenditures made to the Regional Water Quality Control Boards (Regional Water Boards) to clean up waterways in the communities most impacted by pollution. The transparency provided by this bill will ensure certainty to the public that the money generated through pollution fines is accounted for so that communities in which the fines were generated are restored.