February 17 was the last day for legislators to introduce bills. There are some very important climate bills! We want to tell you how to write a letter of support that goes to each of the committees the bill will be heard in as it moves through the first house. Your letter is also sent to the author.
Please follow along on your computer/device.
1. Create an account at the California Legislature Position Letter Portal. It should be your individual account not one for 350 Humboldt. However, if you are an authorized representative of some other group, you can sign up for it at the same time you sign for yourself.
2. Look up important climate bills using the Climate Center Bill Tracker. Later on the 350 Humboldt Legislative Committee will develop its own list of bills it supports, but the Climate Center is a good resource and has paid staff to keep track of bills. You might, for example, use the bill tracker to see which bills the Climate Center is sponsoring. The second bill on this list is SB 12 (Stern). This is probably the most important bill of the session. It changes the 40% reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in California by 2030 to 55% — thus putting us in the position the IPCC says all countries need to be in by 2030.
3. Choose a bill to write about. Unless you are particularly interested in another one, perhaps start with a letter about SB 12 (Stern). If you see a statement that a particular bill is a “spot” bill it means this isn’t the real bill but just something put into hold a spot for the real bill, which will be introduced soon. Senator McGuire, for example, has a couple of spot bills in the Climate Center list.
4. Compose your letter.
- Address it to the author of the bill. It will still be sent to each of the committees the bill will face in the first house.
- State your position in boldface at the top, e.g. Please vote “Aye” for SB 12 (Stern).
- Describe briefly what the bill does. You can use the Climate Center write-up or the Legislative Counsel summary at the top of the bill. Here is how to get to the text of the bill plus other things like what committee it is in and the votes at the last committee by accessing LegInfo. Or the Climate Center site allows you to click through to the bill text.
- Then explain why you think the bill should be supported. You can get information from the Climate Center write up, or you can search for a FAQ or Information Sheet for the bill. Or just use your own ideas from reading the Legislative Counsel summary or the text of the bill.
- Thank the author for introducing the bill (that is Senator Henry Stern for SB 12).
- Sign with your name and address and a digital signature. [On Macintosh you can make one in Preview.]
5. Submit your letter through the Position Letter Portal (see above).
That’s it. If you want someone to walk through it with you join our Sunday night letter writing group or email Dan Chandler, head of the 350 Humboldt Legislative Committee. [email protected]
A sample letter is at the bottom of this email.
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PETITION
NRDC
President Biden’s EPA has released a new proposal to protect our health from deadly soot pollution through the Clean Air Act — but it’s not nearly strong enough.
More than 20 million Americans live in areas with unhealthy levels of soot pollution year round, and more than 63 million Americans experience unhealthy spikes in daily levels of soot pollution. Health burdens of soot are disproportionately borne by communities of color and those living near power plants and other industrial facilities, as well as busy roads and freeways.
We must act now — EPA is only accepting comments on this proposal
until March 28.
I know we can do this. Tighter limits on soot pollution would be consistent with the law, firmly supported by the science, and in line with the recommendations of EPA’s own scientific advisors. And it will save lives.
Submit your public comment: Demand stricter soot limits from EPA!
The Honorable FIRST AND LAST NAME
California State Senate/Assembly
State Capitol
Sacramento, CA 95814
[RE: Senate / Assembly Bill __ ( AUTHOR NAME ) – SUPPORT/OPPOSE/OR SUPPORT OPPOSE IF AMENDED]
RE: SB 12 (Stern): California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006: Emissions Limits. Support
Dear Senator Stern:
AB/SB ___ will [PUT IN DESCRIPTION OF WHAT BILL DOES FROM LEG ANALYST DESCRIPTION OR FACT SHEET]
This bill would require the California Air Resources Board to ensure that statewide GHG emissions are reduced to at least 55% below the 1990 level by no later than December 31, 2030.
[PUT IN REASONS for SUPPORT. USE AUTHOR FACT SHEET IF AVAILABLE]
I believe SB 12 is the most important bill to be introduced this year. In 2022 the administration submitted a “scoping plan” that put off most of the big changes until well after 2030. However, the IPCC is very clear that there is a limited “carbon budget” we have to stay within if we want to keep average global temperatures to 1.5C. That carbon budget requires that global emissions be cut at least 50% by 2030. So SB 12 would put California (the second largest state emitter in the US, which itself is only behind China in emissions) in compliance — forcing us to front-load our emissions reductions. That is the most important thing we can do!
Thank you very much for introducing SB 12 (Stern).
Sincerely,
Daniel Chandler