The California legislative session is shaping up to be a busy one, with a large number of new bills affecting active transportation plus a few two-year bills introduced last year and still moving through. We will also continue to advocate for more funding for active transportation in the budget process.

Here are the bills CalBike is supporting, opposing, and keeping an eye on in 2024.

While it has long been known that oil drilling can cause cancer, respiratory illnesses and birth defects, holding oil drillers liable for the illnesses caused by their drilling in safety zones (established as 3,200 feet within areas where people live, work, or attend school) if the company did not use the best technologies to control the pollution has long been a challenge.

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- While it has long been known that oil drilling can cause cancer, respiratory illnesses and birth defects, holding oil drillers liable for the illnesses caused by their drilling in safety zones (established as 3,200 feet within areas where people live, work, or attend school) if the company did not use the best technologies to control the pollution has long been a challenge.

We’ve made it past the Friday deadline for lawmakers to introduce new bills this session, and as expected, their staffers were busy until the final buzzer.

Solar: Assemblymember Laura Friedman has said she plans to amend her AB 2256 to boost rooftop solar by including environmental and societal benefits in the way the CPUC calculates its value.

California Assembly member Laura Friedman has introduced AB 2256, which would require the CPUC to fully consider the costs and benefits of rooftop solar when revisiting its net energy metering (NEM) tariff.

We all know our climate stands on the brink of disaster. Fixing that will be no easy feat, but it’s clear where the challenge ends and begins. We must reduce our consumption of fossil fuels and we must stop setting our own planet on fire. That’s so much harder than it sounds. But there are two obvious steps that eco-conscious consumers can make, especially as the price comes down on both: making the transition to an electric vehicle and installing solar electricity systems. Both of these are wonderful transitions to make and are good for our environment.

(CN) — A bill introduced Wednesday in the California Legislature would further restrict the use of rat poison and allow members of the public to sue over illegal use and sale of rodenticides in the state.