Author: CEJA

Read and download CEJA’s budget priorities here. Last month, the Governor announced a historic budget surplus along with a proposal for the 2021 state budget. The Governor’s budget included some good starting points:  $2 billion for energy and water utility debt  $5.2 billion for housing debt relief $420 million for the Transformative Climate Communities Program (TCC) But as drought conditions worsen, fires start to burn through Southern California and state regulators resolve to keep polluting gas power plants online, we know our communities will face blackouts and continued heatwaves this summer. Meanwhile, the oil and gas industry has spent $4.3 million in Sacramento to oppose life-saving bills – and it’s only June.   That’s why we’re fighting to add these environmental justice priorities to the budget: $3 billion for energy and water debt relief $1 billion for community resilience hubs  $2 billion for climate remediation high roads job program at DTSC and CalGEM to address orphaned wells, brown fields, refineries and climate resilience $420 million for Transformative Climate Communities Program (TCC) $500 million for Transportation Equity projects  Eliminate funding for dairy digesters that contaminate groundwater and increase air pollution in EJ communities  We urge the Governor and legislature to support community resilience

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEKobi Naseck, VISION, kobi@vision-ca.org, (214) 609-2439Riddhi Patel, CRPE, rpatel@crpe-ej.org, (661) 865-4881Catie Stewart, Senator Wiener’s Office, catie.stewart@sen.ca.gov, (610) 675-6342 Coalition Supporting SB 467 Vows to Continue Fight for SetbacksOpposition from 3 Democratic Senators kept the bill from moving forward Sacramento, CA (April 13, 2021) – Yesterday, Senate Bill 467 (Wiener, Limon) – the bill tocreate health and safety buffer zones; phase out the most dangerous fracking methods inCalifornia; and provide steps to protect workers from volatile oil markets – was blocked in aninitial vote by members of the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment. One Democrat, Senator Eggman (D-5) joined Republicans to oppose the broadly popularfracking and setbacks bill, while two Democrats, Senators Hueso (D-40) and Senator Hertzberg(D-18) abstained from casting their votes. Following their no vote on Assembly Bill 345 last year,this is the second time these moderate Democrats, Sen. Hueso and Sen. Hertzberg haverefused to support a major oil and gas regulation bill that would protect frontline communities.The bill will be reconsidered in two weeks time before the Sen Natural Resources Committee. At the April 12th hearing, residents and advocates called on Senators to consider the healthimpacts of oil and gas drilling, including, “birth defects,

Millions of voters delivered a decisive democratic future this November. As CEJA Action reflects on the victories and losses of this year’s elections, we turn to the words of Guinean freedom fighter and anti-colonial leader Amilcar Cabral. Cabral reminds us that we are fighting for survival and liberation: “to win material benefits, to live better and in peace, to see [our] lives go forward, to guarantee the future of [our] children.” No matter what politicians tell us, it’s clear that Black, indigenous, Latinx, AAPI, and working class frontline leaders delivered the final blow to the Trump administration this year. Grassroots organizing by BIPOC leaders led to key victories in Maricopa County, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Atlanta. In California, our beloved allies at the Million Voters Project led a vibrant, people-centered movement to take on Republicans, white supremacists, and corporations at the ballot box. CEJA members made thousands of calls and texts to ensure that our families, neighbors, and community members understood the key decisions to make on this year’s ballot and had a clear and easy pathway to vote in an increasingly challenging year. Thanks to decades of work by frontline and migrant organizers, and tribal nations, working class, young folks, and