SACRAMENTO, Calif.— The California Assembly today passed the Poison-Free Wildlife Act, which would create stronger protections for wildlife unintentionally harmed or killed by toxic rat poisons. Assembly Bill 2552 now awaits state Senate approval.
Plastics: The American Beverage Association, led in California by Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas’ brother Rick Rivas, notched its first big win under the new regime: the death of Assemblymember Laura Friedman’s AB 2762, which would have required beverage manufacturers to increasingly use and sell refillable bottles instead of single-use or non-recyclable ones.
Sacramento, CA –Bright, tinkling laughter of children carried like music on the wind makes living next to schools occasionally magical–until the playgrounds go silent. On the days gone quiet, the air hangs dank and pungent. The children are present, but the odiferous, toxic fumes of paraquat wafting from the fields next door, have kept recess inside. If you live next to corn, soybeans, cotton, almonds, peanuts, or wine grape vineyards, this is just part of rural living.
During Earth Week, Environment California and partners held a rally in Sacramento to call on Governor Newsom and the Legislature to restore funding for programs in the budget that deliver clean air, clean cars and healthy homes for Californians. Six state legislators spoke at the rally: Assemblymember Damon Connolly, Assemblymember Rick Zbur, Assemblymember Dawn Addis, Assemblymember Chris Ward, Assemblymember Laura Friedman and Senator Dave Min.
Citing serious health issues associated with its use, including Parkinson’s disease, and inaction by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the weed killer paraquat would be banned through legislation introduced in the California Assembly (AB 1963).
A separate bill, AB 2256, would order the CPUC to restructure its policies by running an independent cost-benefit analysis of the role rooftop and distributed solar can play in achieving the state’s clean energy goals.
We have the power to harness abundant renewable energy from the sun by installing solar panels on California’s rooftops. While we lead the nation in rooftop solar capacity, we’ve only taken advantage of 10% of the state’s rooftop solar potential so far. Rooftop solar energy is essential to helping California meet its goal of generating 100% clean electricity by 2045.
New California legislation seeks to permanently ban paraquat, a powerful and widely used weedkiller that has been linked to Parkinson’s disease and other serious health issues.
SACRAMENTO, California — Assemblymember Laura Friedman introduced a bill Wednesday to ban paraquat, a weedkiller banned by over 60 countries for its links to human health harms.
The bill, A.B. 1963, would ban the use of paraquat on orchards and fields in California by January 2026.
On April 8, 2024, the Assembly Transportation Committee will hold the first hearing on Assemblymember Laura Friedman’s Quicker and Better Bikeways Bill, AB 2290. CalBike is a sponsor of this critical legislation, which will make our streets safer for people who bike, walk, and roll.