With Election Day just around the corner, our collective focus is on casting ballots and shaping the future, but legislative progress is a year-round effort. While elections are important, it’s through sustained advocacy that we can drive impactful policy changes right here in the Bay Area. If you have questions about voting, Save The Bay’s Action Fund is a helpful resource. Read on to learn about our legislative victories in 2024, and the steps we’re taking toward a climate-resilient California.

With your support Save The Bay was able to successfully promote climate-forward policies in this year’s legislative session that will bring exciting updates to build a healthier, climate-resilient California. Every year in Sacramento, hundreds of bills are introduced, and we prioritize our advocacy efforts on bills that advance our strategic priorities of climate adaptation, habitat restoration, and water quality improvement. We also work with partners to tackle areas of highest concern for communities that suffer from pollution and climate impacts.  

There’s urgency to act as record breaking heat waves, devastating wildfires, flooding, and air quality show that California’s climate is becoming more extreme. Save The Bay’s state-wide legislative advocacy focuses on adapting our communities to these risks, preventing plastic pollution, and increasing access to funding for local governments to advance nature-based resilience projects.   

This year, we supported bills to accelerate restoration projects by removing bureaucratic barriers for permitting shoreline restoration projects (AB 2501), streamline the ability for schools to redesign schoolyards to be greener (SB 1091), and improve city planning for climate adaptation by updating local planning documents to address the risk of extreme heat (AB 2684). Making it easier for nature-based adaptation approaches like these will ensure that all our communities are able to withstand the conditions that are becoming our norm.  

In our effort to build a climate resilient Bay Area, we advocate for ways to reduce toxic plastic pollution in the Bay and shift our economy to rely less on single-use plastics overall. Save The Bay has campaigned to ban plastic shopping bags for over 15 years because these bags remain an enormous source of trash pollution in the Bay. This year we saw a significant new victory in this effort as the state passed a new law (SB 1053) to ban all plastic film bags from the checkout counters at most stores. We’ll continue looking for opportunities to control plastic trash at the source to prevent pollution before it enters our creeks and the Bay. 

California has the opportunity to secure a climate resilient future for the next generation, but the state needs additional funding to support the types of projects that are needed. Our highest legislative priority this year was the passage of SB 867, which is now on the November ballot as Proposition 4. Prop 4 will invest $10 billion into critical climate adaptation strategies and priorities to protect community health by addressing wildfires, vulnerable drinking water supplies, shoreline restoration to prevent flooding, and strategies to deal with extreme heat and compromised air quality. Since many of the most harmful effects of climate change are already being felt by communities that have suffered from underinvest, Prop 4 prioritizes investing in these areas to ensure that the funds are going where they are needed the most.   

Not all bills make it through the legislative season and several bills Save The Bay advocated for were vetoed by the Governor. This year we supported efforts to ban all non-essential uses of PFAS, commonly referred to as forever chemicals (SB 908). PFAS are used in consumer products and are persistent throughout the environment with many causing adverse health consequences. We also supported several bills to address microplastic pollution, including bills to reduce the toxic impact on salmon populations (AB 1798), and one that would have required the state to establish an interagency working group to implement a statewide microplastic strategy (AB 2214). Creating an equitable future includes addressing sources of pollution we can’t readily see and acknowledging their harmful impact on people and wildlife. Save The Bay will continue to advocate on these issues as a top priority in the coming years. 

Legislative Wins for a Climate Resilient and Pollution Free Bay in 2024 

Here are bills supported by Save The Bay that made it through legislation and were signed by Governor Newsom. These laws will help keep pollution out of the Bay and bolster our communities to be more climate resilience

SB 1053 – Plastic Bag Ban 

This bill will impose an updated state-wide plastic bag ban that will prevent the sale or distribution of single-use plastic bags in most retail stores. This effectively closes the loophole in the state’s original plastic bag ban  (SB 270, 2014) that allowed the sale of thicker plastic bags under the presumption that they would be recyclable. These now common and not-at-all recyclable bags have become a significant source of pollution in the Bay and throughout California. The new ban prohibits all plastic bags from being sold at checkout counters, while still allowing for the sale of recycled paper bags.  

SB-867 Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond

SB 867 authorized the legislature to place Proposition 4 on the ballot.  To learn more about Proposition 4, visit Save The Bay Action Fund.

SB 1091 – Green Schoolyards  

Sponsored by Green Schoolyards America, SB 1091 reduces barriers to transforming schoolyards into green spaces that improve children’s well-being and contribute to a climate resilient future. Urban greening uses nature-based solutions to increase climate resiliency and can protect communities from dangerous heat events and flooding. SB 1091 is a step towards creating a healthy environment for children and increasing access to nature for all children in California.  

AB 2684 – Local Gov Extreme Heat Planning 

Under this law, cities and counties will be required to identify new information about extreme heat hazards and incorporate these findings into their General Plan Safety Element. Urban heat is becoming increasingly dangerous for the most vulnerable members of our communities and this proactive planning will protect residents across California.    

AB 2501 – Streamlined Restoration Permitting 

Projects that directly benefit the public will now happen faster by removing barriers between public agencies and streamlining the permitting processes. This bill will accelerate timelines and prioritize projects that improve our regional climate adaptation strategies or address environmental justice. Shoreline restoration can’t wait, and this bill takes action to protect frontline communities that will face the brunt of sea level rise and flooding. 

Learn more about Save The Bay’s Policy Priorities on our Advocate page or head to the Restore section of our site to explore nature-based solutions.