The legislative session in Sacramento has adjourned for 2026, and Governor Newsom has likely signed the last bills of his tenure. Green Foothills focused our state-level advocacy on three bills this year: SB 1250, which incorporates wildlife connectivity into state transportation planning; SB 954, which was an effort to address the worst aspects of a harmful bill (SB 131) passed last year; and AB 1548, which would have created a new conservation authority on the Central Coast. We met with legislators, sent letters, spoke at press conferences, and more to build support for these bills. While the results were mixed, we are working, along with broad coalitions, to continue to move these efforts forward.
SB 1250: Signed by the Governor!
We are excited to share that SB 1250 has been signed into law. This is a big step forward for protecting wildlife – and people – on California’s roads. Our state will now take wildlife movement into account when planning highways, by considering where culverts, overpasses, fencing, and other improvements can make roads safer for both people and wildlife.
This bill will make it easier for wildlife to move freely throughout the landscape to find food, mates, and habitat, and to adapt to changing conditions or respond to natural disasters. California’s dense development sometimes blocks this movement, causing wildlife to endanger themselves, and drivers and passengers, as they cross roads to meet their most essential needs. Every year in California there are over 7,000 animal-vehicle collisions with deer or other large mammals, resulting in thousands of human injuries or deaths. SB 1250, authored by State Senator Dave Cortese, addresses these concerns by making wildlife connectivity one of the core objectives of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). It strengthens coordination between Caltrans, wildlife experts, and local stakeholders, and encourages transportation planning that incorporates wildlife connectivity infrastructure into transportation projects.
Green Foothills signed onto letters, made phone calls, expressed our support at legislative hearings, and spoke at a press conference in support of the bill. We are excited to report that SB 1250 passed in the Senate with 34 votes in favor and only 3 opposed, and in the Assembly with 59 supporting and 15 opposed. The Governor signed the bill into law on September 29. We’re grateful to Senator Cortese and our partners for making our roads safer for wildlife and people alike.
SB 954: Vetoed by the Governor, But the Fight Continues
Last year, legislators passed a deeply flawed bill (SB 131) that stripped away fundamental protections for the environment and our communities in a rushed, last-minute process that prevented public input and transparency. This year, Senator Catherine Blakespear introduced SB 954 to address some of the most concerning aspects of SB 131. Disappointingly, Governor Newsom vetoed SB 954 after it passed both houses of the legislature with strong support.
Our biggest concerns with SB 131 were that it eliminated important protections for the habitat of endangered and threatened species, and made “advanced manufacturing,” a broad term that covers a wide range of polluting projects, exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). This means that industries like weapons, strip mining, semiconductors, lithium battery plants, and many other dangerous projects that are known sources of toxic pollution, radiation, groundwater contamination, and explosions, do not need to undergo environmental review. The impacts to the environment do not need to be disclosed to the public or to decision makers, and the people most affected no longer have an opportunity to weigh in on the projects.
SB 954 would have fixed some of the worst problems with SB 131. It would have reinstated protections for the habitat of threatened and endangered species. It also would have created guardrails for the advanced manufacturing exemption, narrowing what kinds of projects qualify, requiring that the projects be a safe distance from homes, schools, and frontline communities, and strictly limiting the air pollution the projects could emit. Green Foothills sent letters, organized meetings with legislators, made phone calls, and called on all of you to take action. Despite the calls of over 100 organizations, and strong support from both legislative houses – 28 voted in favor in the Senate with only 10 opposed, while 50 voted in favor in the Assembly with only 17 opposed – the Governor vetoed the bill.
We are working with a coalition of over 150 organizations that are committed to continuing the effort to fix SB 131, and Senator Blakespear has also stated her commitment to continue. We are grateful for her leadership, as well as to our local representatives who co-authored the bill: Senator Cortese, Senator Laird, Assembly Member Ahrens, Assembly Member Kalra, Assembly Member Lee, and Assembly Member Pellerin.
AB 1548: To Be Continued
Assembly Bill 1548, authored by Assembly Member Gail Pellerin, would have created the Monterey Bay Area Stewardship Authority (MBASA), a new conservation authority that would serve San Benito, Santa Cruz, and Monterey counties. MBASA would secure funding that would be allocated to support the protection and ongoing stewardship of natural and working lands in the area. Green Foothills sent letters, made phone calls, and encouraged support of the bill at the local level. The San Benito County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to support it.
The bill passed in the Assembly, but Assembly Member Pellerin decided not to proceed to the Senate. Based on feedback received while the bill was moving through the Assembly, the team supporting it decided it would be best to take this time to strengthen local relationships in the region and have conversations about the importance of MBASA for the region. They are planning to reintroduce the idea during the next legislative session.
As is almost always the case, we had some victories and some losses this year. We are grateful for the victories, and will continue to push for strong protections for local nature and our communities next year.
