After a busy policy committee season, the California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) Action is excited to share our 2023 legislative priorities. As always when looking at policy to support, we focused on bills that would materially advance environmental justice for our frontline community members – the people who most often bear the toxic consequences of California’s extractive economy. These interests represents the diverse work of our alliance, and the bills we are closely watching ahead of the Appropriations hearings. Current Environmental Justice Watch Bills Two-Year Environmental Justice Watch Bills
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Press Release: 19 Candidates Earn Environmental Justice Support Ahead of November Election
CEJA Action endorses 2022 “Environmental Justice Crew” September 13, 2022 | Sacramento, CA – Today, the California Environmental Justice Alliance Action (CEJA Action), announced their legislative endorsements ahead of a hotly contested November election cycle. CEJA Action has endorsed the most progressive candidates who will appear on the ballot this fall. These candidates will advance policy for frontline Californians and our climate future. The environmental justice slate includes the following leaders: Dave Jones (SD-8), Aisha Wahab (SD-10), Steve Padilla (SD-18), Caroline Menjivar (SD- 20), Lola Smallwood Cuevas (SD -28), Sara Aminzadeh (AD-12), Liz Ortega (AD-20), Gail Pellerin (AD-28),Gregg Hart (AD-3), Assemblymember Steve Bennett (AD-38), Pilar Schiavo (AD-40), Christy Holstege (AD-47), Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes (AD-50), Rick Zbur (AD-51), Tina McKinnor (AD- 61), Fauzia Rizvi (AD-63), Fatima Iqbal-Zubair (AD-65), Assemblymember Chris Ward (AD-78), and Georgette Gómez (AD-80). As the largest environmental justice alliance in California, CEJA Action vets and endorses candidates for statewide office on the basis of their demonstrated commitment to environmental health and climate progress. “The oil and gas industry has strong-armed the California legislature for far too long. Voters have the chance to wrest critical legislative seats back from Big Oil this November. Our slate of candidates have
Read morePress Release: EJ Voter Guide 2022
CEJA Action announces support for the 13 most exciting California progressive candidates ahead of the June primary.
Read moreRecall Victory Shows Power of EJ, Progressive Organizing Force in CA
The defeat of the recall shows the potential for transformative action when Democratic leaders unite with the powerful organizing force of California’s electorate.
Read moreIn Two Weeks Join us to Vote NO on the Right-Wing Recall
As wildfires burn up and down Northern California and our families struggle to recover in the second wave of COVID-19, luxury real estate, the law enforcement and venture capitalists are trying to capture the Office of the Governor. Join us to use your vote and your power to vote No on the Recall.
Read moreLegislature Passes Bill to Create Oversight Board at Broken Toxics Regulator
Last night, the California Legislature passed SB 158 to create structural changes at the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).
Read moreAssembly, Senate Budget Falls Short on Key Environmental Justice Priorities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June “Placeholder Budget” Requires Deeper Investments in Low-Income, Communities of Color Sacramento, CA — On June 14th, the California State Legislature narrowly passed a placeholder budget before the June 15 budget deadline with substantially different allocations than those proposed in Governor Newsom’s May Revision. Negotiations on the June budget are anticipated to continue into July. This week, the California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) continues to urge lawmakers to pass an equitable 2021–2022 Budget through a letter to the Governor and Senate and Assembly Leadership. In the letter, CEJA requested that State leaders incorporate key environmental justice priorities into the final budget. In response to the passing of a June placeholder budget, CEJA Policy Manager Raquel Mason issued the following statement: As California residents brace for yet another year of severe drought and record-setting wildfires, CEJA calls upon Governor Newsom and the Legislature to eliminate funding for costly and dangerous false solutions that derail our state’s efforts for a just recovery; and, instead, invest deeply in programs that strengthen community well-being and address environmental and climate-related crises. With a record budget surplus, now is the time to prioritize life-sustaining programs and infrastructure such as community resilience centers, and make
Read moreCA Environmental Justice Alliance Action Announces 2021 Legislative Agenda
Oil and gas safety buffer zones and community resilience investments lead the 2021 EJ agenda FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Contact: Isa Flores-Jones | isa@caleja.org Sacramento, California | April 20, 2021 – On Tuesday, the California Environmental Justice Alliance (CEJA) Action announced its priority bills for the 2021 Legislative session. As the state enters the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic, CEJA Action is prioritizing a health and safety buffer zone between homes and to neighborhood oil drilling in California with SB 467 (Wiener and Limon), and critical investments in clean energy infrastructure with AB 1087 (Chiu). CEJA Action is adopting supporting positions on SB 222 and 223 (Dodd),to ensure access to clean and affordable drinking water to low-income Californians; SB 342 (González), to add two environmental justice board members to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD); and AB 339 (Lee), to ensure that all local agency meetings are accessible to frontline residents. Read more about our priority bills here at ceja-action.org. “California cannot claim to be a climate leader while it continues the dangerous practice of oil drilling next to where people live, work, learn, and play,” said Martha Dina Arguello, Executive Director with Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
Read moreCelebrating Local and Statewide Victories in the 2018 Election
This election undeniably showed that every vote matters and that California’s election has national consequences.
13 of 16 candidates CEJA Action endorsed were elected! These candidates are proven leaders and people of color who won through a vibrant ground campaign. We congratulate all the elected representatives on their successful campaigns!
We’re proud of CEJA Action members’ work and the results we helped achieve this election. Together, we knocked on over 11,000 doors, made over 8,000 phone calls, equipped over 8,000 voters with English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Lao voter guides, and sent over 13,000 text messages to get voters to complete their ballots and get to the polls. Alliance members displayed courageous leadership to help make local and statewide victories possible in Alameda County, Contra Costa County, San Francisco, Kern County, Ventura County, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and San Diego.
Read moreWill California’s next Governor prioritize environmental justice?
With many important elections in 2018, CEJA Action is working hard to ensure that environmental and climate justice issues are a key part of the debate. With the recent wildfires and droughts, severe hurricanes battering so many places across the country, and climate inaction and denial at the federal level, our movement must make it perfectly clear that it is time for a Governor who will make our state a true model of just, equitable climate policy. California must protect our most vulnerable communities — low-income communities of color that are most impacted by climate change and have the fewest resources to adapt — while creating the most aggressive policies in the nation to address the root causes of climate change. CEJA Action was proud to co-host a Gubernatorial Forum in Los Angeles to hear from the 2018 candidates what their vision and top priorities are as Governor of California. We thank our co-hosts CBE Action, California League of Conservation Voters, and United Food and Commercial Workers for their partnership and opportunity to build across EJ, labor, and environmental sectors. We wanted to know which of the 2018 candidates for Governor will stand for climate justice in 2019 and beyond
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