Brown Signs Housing, Transportation, Clean Energy Laws

The last year of California Governor Jerry Brown's administration saw the state make ambitious moves toward 100 percent renewable energy, Vision Zero, and increased housing supply. In The Planning Report, State Senator Robert Hertzberg explains the motivations and opportunities that yielded this session's gains.

For one, legislators moved urgently to preempt any actions the Trump administration might take to steamroll California's environmental protections. A long tradition of bipartisan climate action paved the way for quick action this session. "I'm seeing an increasingly deep and sophisticated approach to energy and cleantech markets in the Legislature," Hertzberg says.

Strong economic growth and a budget surplus also allowed a greater number of priority issues to receive funding, he notes.

Hertzberg's own efforts this year included safeguards for data privacy and a controversial approach to bail reform. Read the full interview in The Planning Report.