Latest news with #NicoleNorman
Politico
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Politico
Zombie waiver walking
Presented by With help from Camille von Kaenel, Nicole Norman and Jordain Carney WAIVING GOODBYE: Senate Republicans are about to kill California's vehicle emissions rules, and state officials are going back to the drawing board. Democrats' threats of future retribution for overruling the Senate parliamentarian didn't stop Senate Majority Leader John Thune from teeing up votes Tuesday to roll back California's zero-emission sales mandates for cars and heavy-duty trucks, ending a monthslong game of 'will he, won't he' that kept the automotive world on edge. Next come the inevitable lawsuits once President Donald Trump signs the resolutions. Attorney General Rob Bonta has been ready for this since at least March. 'We don't think it's an appropriate use of the Congressional Review Act, and we're prepared to defend ourselves if it's wrongfully weaponized,' he told us back then. California leaders are still thinking about what to do after that. Lindsay Buckley, a spokesperson for the California Air Resources Board, said the agency isn't deterred by an impending vote that 'does not change CARB's authority,' which includes a federal requirement to reduce pollution levels that are among the highest in the nation. 'CARB will continue its mission to protect the public health of Californians impacted by harmful air pollution,' she said in a statement. But losing the power to dictate automakers' sales targets is undoubtedly a knee-capping of a major tool in the state's climate policy kit. And CARB hasn't detailed what exactly its next steps will look like. Former CARB Chair Mary Nichols said state and local governments still have multiple options at their disposal that don't require federal approval, including electrification incentives and taxes on fossil fuels reforms that push residents and businesses to invest in EVs. Craig Segall, a former CARB executive director, said there's also nothing stopping the agency from starting to develop new emissions rules that would be approved by a future Democratic administration. He said the demise of the EV sales mandates could actually have a silver lining for clean transportation advocates by forcing California, which risks losing federal highway funding if it doesn't reduce pollution, to rethink its strategy and invest more into alternatives like public transit. 'What this opens up, I hope, is the conversation more broadly around what is our transport decarbonization strategy,' Segall said. California's loss this round could also reopen the window for state officials to negotiate with automakers. That's what happened after Trump's EPA undid an earlier EV waiver during his first term. And while California now has less leverage, car companies already have an incentive to build EVs for growing markets in Asia and Europe. 'What [automakers] wanted was some relief on the sales mandate; they wanted to stop buying credits from Tesla,' Nichols said. 'But when it comes to the types of cars that they're making, those decisions are made years in advance.' But the odds of that sort of deal materializing quickly aren't looking great. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, which represents major automakers, didn't immediately respond to requests for comment on the impending Senate vote, but the group has lobbied lawmakers for months to kill the waivers. Worse for California is that Stellantis, which had previously aligned itself with state officials, isn't running to defend the rules. The world's fifth-largest automaker, which owns brands like Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, inked a deal with California last year to follow the state's EV sales targets even if the mandate goes away, but directed questions to the Auto Alliance when asked about Thune's move Tuesday. Newsom used the moment to take a jab at Trump, who's made China the top target of his trade war, and accuse the Senate of ceding the car industry to America's biggest economic competitor. Chinese automaker BYD surpassed Tesla as the biggest EV producer last year, marking the first time Elon Musk's company didn't hold the top spot. 'Will you side with China or America?' he asked in a statement. — AN Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here! ABOUT THOSE THREATS: Sen. Alex Padilla — speaking to POLITICO ahead of Senate Democrats' pleas from the floor Tuesday afternoon to spare the waiver — talked about his attempt to hold up EPA nominations in protest of the CRA maneuver and Democrats' vows to inflict payback. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Republicans seem to think you're bluffing. Is your party actually willing to play hardball, and do you have targets in mind for when Democrats are in power? What goes around, comes around. If they do this and set a new precedent, then you better believe when the majority shifts again, Democrats will not be shy, will not hold back on combing through a whole lot of other agency decisions for the same treatment. What is objecting to four EPA nominees really going to do? What more will your party do to make Republicans feel pain for their decision, and is leadership willing to take those steps? We had a long, late meeting [Monday] night in Sen. [Chuck] Schumer's office with a number of Senate Democrats with a twofold agenda. No. 1: What else can we do here at this late stage in the game? What Hail Marys do we have in the back pocket to try to keep this from happening? But No. 2: Starting to think, if the Republicans go through with this and are successful, then what are our next steps? What was the discussion like? Were there any targets that stood out immediately in your discussion with the leadership and other Democrats? There's a growing list of potential CRAs that we may bring, and we don't have to wait until we're back in the majority to bring them. There are some CRAs that we would likely bring in the coming weeks, months, if Republicans go through with this. You advocated for ending the filibuster in 2021 to pass voting rights legislation. Is your concern now politically expedient? At least when we were debating and taking a vote on abolishing the filibuster specifically for voting rights, we said that's what we were doing. Republicans today are on the verge of this nuclear option, but they're in denial about the filibuster precedent that they're about to set. — AN DELTA WARS: Stae Sen. Jerry McNerney is laying down the gauntlet against Newsom's budget proposal to fast-track the controversial Delta tunnel. McNerney said Tuesday he has the votes to defeat Newsom's bid last week to speed up the permitting for a tunnel underneath the state's main water delivery hub, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, if it came to that. McNerney said his next move is convincing Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and other legislative leadership to take his side — though he acknowledged they may be reluctant to go against Newsom, who sees the tunnel as a key climate adaptation project he wants to get permitted before he leaves office. 'People don't like to cross the governor, and this is very important to him, apparently,' said McNerney. Newsom spokesperson Tara Gallegos said, 'Today's press conference demonstrated why this fast track is necessary, as it is clear that misinformation will continue to delay and obfuscate this critical project.' — NN, CvK DIRTY WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE: Don't blink or you'll miss it, but a California Democrat is thanking the Trump administration for an effort to protect the environment. Rep. Scott Peters of San Diego thanked U.S. EPA administrator Lee Zeldin in a congressional hearing Tuesday for his attention to the San Diego region's problems with raw sewage flowing across the international border from Mexico, closing beaches and polluting military training sites. Zeldin seized on the issue this spring, including by touring San Diego last month and pressing Mexico to do more to stop the pollution. There's at least one concrete result so far: The U.S. EPA and the International Border and Water Commission announced Tuesday they are planning to speed up a planned expansion of the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant along the Tijuana River, finishing a first phase of the project in 100 days instead of the originally scheduled two years. — CvK I'VE GOT MY EYE ON YOU: Speaking of rules that don't have a waiver: The California Air Resources Board settled a lawsuit against their zero-emission truck purchasing rule for fleets last week, signaling their commitment to repealing the regulations that they started walking back in January, right before Trump took office. CARB reached an agreement with the Specialty Equipment Market Association — which sued over the rule last year — to repeal requirements under the Advanced Clean Fleets regulation that larger fleets and those serving ports phase out purchases of diesel trucks. The case will be suspended until CARB follows through with their end of the deal. 'This is a necessary agreement,' said Karen Bailey-Chapman, the senior vice president for public and government affairs at SEMA. 'This agreement brings closure to California's attempted overreach beyond its borders and the seriousness of the implications to our nation's system of interstate commerce.' CARB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. — NN BACK TO THE LAND: Newsom on Tuesday named Sacramento attorney Matthew Read to serve as chief counsel in his Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (formerly Office of Planning and Research). Read previously worked at the pollution-awareness group Breathe California, for the Strategic Growth Council and in the office of Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Hansen. — State Farm is asking for an 11 percent rate hike for next year — on top of the 17 percent emergency rate hike Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara approved last week. — Nichols, the former CARB chair, says to look at what subnational governments are doing on forests. — The dairy industry is touting its expected avoidance this year of 5 million metric tons of methane, two-thirds of the way to its state-set goal of reducing livestock methane emissions 40 percent below 2013 levels by 2030.
Politico
13-03-2025
- Automotive
- Politico
CARB strikes back
With help from Camille von Kaenel and Nicole Norman GLOVES OFF: California has been taking body blows to its suite of electric vehicle policies — but it's starting to fight back. Republicans are attacking California on multiple fronts, including an effort to revoke its car and truck electrification mandates through congressional review. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin ratcheted up the pressure Wednesday, announcing that he's seeking to overturn dozens of climate regulations, including federal tailpipe emission standards. California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph is going on the offensive, pushing back against auto dealers' ad campaign warning that the state's electric vehicle goals are unreachable. A new five-page rebuttal accompanies the effort to combat the auto industry narrative, which the state calls a 'doomsday scenario.' 'This is a classic misinformation campaign,' Randolph told POLITICO in an exclusive interview. 'They are really just perpetuating a false narrative that creates the impression that there is some artificial crisis that does not really exist.' This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. What about the car dealers' ad campaign is false, and are you worried it will create fear among Californians that prices will go up on lots? They're trying to build this specter of a doomsday scenario, and it's just not real, given how carefully constructed both [Advanced Clean Cars I] and [Advanced Clean Cars II] are. These rules build in a lot of flexibility for the automakers, and they are able to take advantage of the fact that they are ahead of the game. They have been successful in deploying electric vehicles, and it is absolutely possible for them to comply. CARB has for decades had a relationship with the manufacturers such that we can really talk about how the rules are working, what challenges the automakers are running into, and are able to work through a lot of these issues. What have you heard from automakers directly about potential changes they want to see to the regulation? Automakers are each unique. They all have different issues. They all have different perspectives and different strategies for how they're moving forward. If you look at some of the largest automakers in America, they have made significant investments in moving the zero-emission future forward. They see the international landscape. And so they have developed plans and strategies that will increase their fully zero-emission and their plug-in hybrid vehicles and even in some cases hydrogen vehicles. Are you surprised by it? Well, these days, nothing surprises anyone. Congress seems to be on the path to revoking ACC II very soon via the Congressional Review Act. If the rule is paused while litigation plays out, what effect will that have on California, U.S. and global auto markets? We are telling everyone we can, we are doing everything we can to ensure that Congress does not take the unlawful activity of using CRA in the context in which it is not legally appropriate to use. One of the points that we're making in these conversations is these rules have a fair amount of flexibility. There's opportunities to trade credits back and forth. We have a three-year compliance window so you can manage your compliance. We continue to see a lot of interest in the consumer market for these vehicles. We know they're cleaner, they are fun to drive. The infrastructure is catching up, and so we think the automakers still recognize that their customers are interested in these vehicles. They have a market for them. Do you take this campaign by the auto dealers to be the first public salvo in a new round of negotiations? And do you think there's an opportunity for a deal to come out of it? No, I see the ad campaign as sort of a sideshow that, to me, is an unfortunate example of a political climate that focuses on loud voices and less on solutions, and we're focused on solutions. How does California's climate policy picture fit into the larger picture of California and Trump? A lot of California's climate work is in place, in process. Our vehicle rules being a classic example. We have rules that cover every segment of the vehicle market. And so we are the status quo, right? The status quo is continuing to increase the number of zero-emission vehicles. What are your priorities for this year? Our priority is to keep that status quo and implement it as best we can. We continue to work with our sister agencies on infrastructure deployment, we continue to engage around questions of affordability and ways that we can help with that conversation. We're still wrapping up the [Low Carbon Fuel Standard] rulemaking. We're making changes that the Office of Administrative Law requested, so that's in process and I think that'll be finished within the next few months. We're engaging with the legislature on cap-and-trade, and we have a lot of bread-and-butter air quality and climate work. — AN NEW NEWSLETTER JUST DROPPED: Are you a transportation nerd curious about the future of autonomous vehicles? A fire techie monitoring Silicon Valley's influence in Washington, D.C.? Or just a friendly POLITICO fan? You'll love our new sister newsletter, POLITICO Pro Technology: California Decoded. You can subscribe here. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here! CAP AND WAIT: CARB is pushing back its timeline — again — for amending its cornerstone emissions program. The agency updated its website today to say that it expects to start the process of amending the program 'this year,' rather than in 'early 2025' as it previously said. The agency also said it was working with lawmakers, which are holding discussions around bills to extend the market's authorization past 2030. 'We're still working through the regulatory package and expect to move forward this year,' the site says. 'At the same time, the administration is working with the legislature as they consider extension of the Cap-and-Trade Program.' It's not a shocker, after the agency already pushed its timeline back last fall. But it doesn't bode well for auction proceeds, which are dipping due to the uncertainty around when CARB will move to tighten supplies of emissions permits. 'Today's update from CARB caused allowance prices to drop after hours, meaning the market seemingly interpreted the new language as signaling potential regulatory delay,' Clayton Munnings, CEO of the consulting firm Elevate Climate, said in a statement. 'Any continued delay to the rulemaking will probably lead to lower revenues and low auction revenues.' — DK STILL MORE CARB: Democrats aren't ready to rubber stamp Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan for funding CARB. Lawmakers pushed back on a swath of budget proposals for the powerful agency during a budget hearing today, as negotiations between the administration and Legislature are picking up steam. While Democrats and CARB officials have largely been aligned in recent years on the agency's mission to reduce greenhouse gases and other pollutants, new funding has come under increased scrutiny as lawmakers are under pressure to address affordability. They particularly honed in on a proposal that would give CARB the power to assess fees on businesses it regulates to cover costs the agency incurs. Lawmakers and the Legislative Analyst's Office, a nonpartisan advisory agency, criticized the ask, arguing it's too broad and would give CARB too much authority to develop fees without legislative oversight. CARB Legislative Director David Garcia said while it would allow CARB to develop fees without seeking new legislation, lawmakers would still need to approve those fees through the budget process. Assemblymembers Steve Bennett, who chairs the subcommittee that reviews climate spending, and Cottie Petrie-Norris also called out funding asks for the emissions rules hampered by the Trump administration — including an electrification mandate for forklifts that CARB doesn't plan to seek federal approval for. 'It seems completely insane for us to be suggesting that we spend millions and millions of dollars to implement a policy that we most certainly are not going to get a waiver to actually implement,' Petrie-Norris said. — AN SAME AS IT EVER WAS: A Senate hearing today on California's prospects for sharing its electricity grid with its neighbors turned up familiar concerns about giving up control. The Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee's debate over SB 540, the latest proposal to create a new entity to oversee the state's grid and neighboring states' via a 'West-Wide Governance Pathways Initiative,' circled around the question of whether tighter ties to states with higher-emitting electricity could dilute California's mix. Sen. Monique Limón was skeptical that the governance structure would be able to keep out higher-carbon electricity. 'We're still getting some of what we don't like,' she said. State officials stumped for the proposal. 'What electricity markets do is they optimize the dispatch of resources,' said California Public Utilities Commission President Alice Reynolds. 'There's a value to having a market that is bigger than any one weather event.' — NN — Sen. Lena Gonzalez is urging the Dodgers to end sponsorship deals with oil and gas companies. — Los Angeles residents support higher home building standards and restricting construction in fire-prone areas, according to a new poll. — A new Morgan Stanley survey found that 85 percent of Tesla investors believe Elon Musk is hurting the company. Relatedly, Sean Hannity is now Tesla's newest customer.
Politico
15-02-2025
- Health
- Politico
The lawmaker repping California's most MAHA district
With help from Ry Rivard, Nicole Norman, Blanca Begert and Alex Nieves Programming Note: We'll be off this Monday for Presidents Day but will be back in your inboxes on Tuesday. THE MARIN-MAHA CONNECTION: Assemblymember Damon Connolly's Marin County district is one of California's most 'Make America Healthy Again' communities, with a longtime love for organic food and a history of vaccine skepticism. As chair of the Assembly's Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, Connolly will be right in the middle of figuring out which parts of newly confirmed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s agenda California wants to own and lead on — and where to create more distance. For example: Over the past two years, the ESTM committee has helped develop and pass a pair of nation-leading bills banning four food additives linked to health problems (including one that colors Skittles) and cracking down on food dyes in school lunches and drinks (including the one in Flamin' Hot Cheetos). California also led efforts to define 'regenerative agriculture,' popular among both the Marin crowd and Kennedy. And Gov. Gavin Newsom made a point of claiming a mantle of leadership for California in the fight against ultra-processed foods just weeks before President Donald Trump's inauguration by ordering further investigation into food dyes and healthy school meals. This transcript has been edited for length and clarity. Why did you want this assignment? It was a natural fit based on my interests, my district's perspective, and I think some of the top issues facing our state. I ran for office based on strong environmental values. My work as a local official centered around some of these very same issues, strong regulation around pesticides in our local communities, advocating for organic ag practices. This is a very good fit for my district. I also had the benefit of serving on the ESTM committee as a member for my first two years in the Legislature, so I had an opportunity to present bills in the committee, hear bills in the committee, and be exposed to the great staff of the committee. I really believe in the mission. What's California's role in what has become a right-wing moment in the spotlight for issues like food additives? I think we can rightfully say that we are taking a leadership role now in these issues. What has been notable to me is that these are really nationwide, not only just California-leading efforts, but nationwide leading efforts. You're now starting to see that with talk at the nationwide level about these issues, and also, of course, the recent executive order by Gov. Newsom, further putting an imprint on California agencies really stepping up to meet the moment. What I would be looking to do is build on those efforts to continue to keep California in the lead, to base decision making on the precautionary principle: Above all, do no harm. Priorities going forward will be that this is going to be a committee that, above all, is committed to following the science. Do you think that there's more momentum behind these sorts of ideas now with RFK Jr. in a position of power, or do you want to differentiate yourself from him? I think if there are issue areas where there is commonality, and it appears that there could be, we're willing to work together. At the same time, given our understanding of the first time around with Trump and some of the other pronouncements, we're going to be on high alert. But I think everyone is interested in the fact that there seems to be more of a nationwide movement now toward looking at ultra processed foods, what impact is that having on kids and communities and really seeing if there are ways to work together. Another big theme for this session is affordability. I wonder to what degree that might dampen your initiatives given that costs sometimes get passed along to consumers, and that's what the business community is going to say. How do you balance that? We're looking at exorbitant utility rates. We're looking at water rates. That's another part of the portfolio of this committee. But going to your point, I think it's important to remember, if you're looking at costs associated with changing the makeup of foods and moving from, for example, synthetic to natural, those foods are grown in California. We have a market here that we should be utilizing and continuing to help flourish. There's a lot of talk now of regenerative agriculture. What does it mean? What does it look like? What excites me now is that all that is teed up and that this committee will play an important role in those discussions. We often are confronted with false choices, like the red dye debate showed, where it turns out there are solutions. You can use natural food or natural products to achieve the same goal. I think at the end of the day, even industry has begun to recognize that the world did not end without Red Dye No. 3. What's your first step? One thing I will make a priority right away is to get to know better the full range of agencies that we deal with. I'm going to make a point of meeting with all the heads of those agencies in fairly short order. I do see an important role of this committee to provide oversight, not just evaluating bills, formulating bills, although that will obviously occur, and I may even carry a couple myself, but also providing an oversight role. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Sign up here! FIRE FINGER-POINTING: The Los Angeles wildfires are prompting other states to reflect on their fire readiness — and sparking some interstate bickering. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy used a press conference Thursday on the state's efforts to prepare for wildfires to criticize New York for lacking a state fire service, POLITICO's Ry Rivard reports. Murphy said the roundtable event was prompted by the fires that devastated Los Angeles County last month and record-breaking dry fall in New Jersey last year. The comments came just three months after firefighters from both states struggled for two weeks to contain a 5,000-acre blaze along their forested border in the northern part of New Jersey that started along their border. 'We were battling some serious fires on the New York state border and it was, fair to say, incredibly challenging because they don't have what we have,' he said. 'You think that's crazy? New York's got almost 20 million people — they don't have a state forest fire service and that made that really hard and I would argue it took longer to get that under control because of that than it otherwise should have.' New Jersey maintains a 60-person statewide Forest Fire Service, while New York largely relies on local fire departments to fight the fires. The U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday it had started laying off 3,400 employees. While those layoffs exempt firefighters, they include other roles that support wildfire prevention in national forests in states like New York. Cal Fire — California's fire service — employs around 12,000 permanent and seasonal personnel. Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire said last week he would introduce a bill to transition 3,000 seasonal Cal Fire fighters to year-round positions. — AN LARA APPROVED: California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is out with the list of ten bills he's sponsoring this year to address the state's wildfire insurance crisis. The bills, some of which we've already seen and some which have yet to be introduced, cover a range of ideas to reduce skyrocketing insurance costs and keep insurers in the state. One by Assemblymember Lisa Calderon would set up a grant program at the Department of Insurance to pay for certain fire-prepared home upgrades. Another by Sens. Sasha Renée Pérez and Susan Rubio would extend the one-year ban on non-renewals in disaster areas to include business, homeowners' associations and affordable housing units. A bill by Assemblymember Heath Flora, the only Republican on this list, would require businesses advertising for legal or recovery services to display the statement: 'This is a solicitation for business. Not affiliated with any government entity or non-profit.' LARA DENIED: Meanwhile, Lara denied an emergency request from State Farm to raise its insurance premium rates 22 percent after the Los Angeles fires. '[T]he burden is on State Farm to show why this is needed now,' he wrote in a letter today denying the company's Feb. 3 request for an emergency rate hike after it paid out over $1 billion in claims from the LA fires. 'State Farm has not met that burden.' Lara pointed out that State Farm stopped writing new policies in California in May 2023 and declined to renew 30,000 homeowner policies, including many high-risk Southern California communities, in March 2024. He asked for a meeting with State Farm and Consumer Watchdog on Feb. 26 and also asked whether an emergency rate increase would affect its underwriting decisions. — NN, CvK, BB WHAT'S NEXT FOR LITHIUM VALLEY: The Salton Sea region sits on enough lithium to produce nearly 400 million batteries and transform the country's auto fleet. But will California be able to take advantage of it? What does the election of Donald Trump mean for the lithium boom? And how will the changes planned for the region affect local communities? Join POLITICO's California climate reporter Blanca Begert on Wednesday for a discussion with Chris Benner of the University of California, Santa Cruz and Manuel Pastor of the University of Southern California, two experts with a new book out about the region. The event is on Feb. 19 at 12 p.m. at the UC Student and Policy Center, one block from the Capitol in Sacramento. Register here. — U.S. EPA fired 388 employees — 2.5 percent of its workforce — amid widespread terminations of probationary workers across federal agencies. — Elon Musk campaigned on a border crackdown, but his car and aerospace companies have relied on undocumented workers. — A new study finds that some of California's most economically and culturally significant marine species, like crabs and squid, are increasingly vulnerable due to climate change.
