Image: Newsom and Gonzalez from when he actually signed a piece of her legislation last year. That bill expanded paid sick leave.
Over the weekend, Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation designed to provide for a plan to make California’s schools “Climate Resilient” in the face of the growing Climate crisis.
S.B. 1182 would have directed the California Energy Commission to coordinate with other state agencies to create a comprehensive master plan to align funding for school facilities with California’s climate goals, including reducing greenhouse emissions, climate adaptation, and extreme heat mitigation.
Newsom cited the state’s budget issues in the statement and encouraged the legislature to include money for creating a Climate Resiliency plan in next year’s budget.
“While I support the author’s goal of making our schools more climate-friendly and climate-prepared, this proposal should be considered as part of the annual budget process,” wrote Newsom in his veto statement.
“Notably, last year I vetoed a substantially similar bill based on the same concerns.”
The legislation was authored by Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez from Long Beach who lamented the governor’s veto.
“With the increasing frequency of climate emergencies, we need to be well-prepared to protect the safety of students, teachers, and communities when they are most at risk,” said Majority Leader Gonzalez.
“We need a comprehensive plan to address climate-related health and safety threats to California students, and can no longer rely on a disjointed and piecemeal approach to fortifying our thousands of school facilities. I’m incredibly disappointed that the Climate Resilient Schools Act was vetoed for the second year in a row. The longer we wait, the harder and more expensive it will be to make the changes we need to see real impact.”
Gonzalez’s statement featured quotes from various leaders on Climate issues including Jonathan Klein, California parent and CEO of UndauntedK12, Jeffery Freitas, President of the California Federation of Teachers, and Julia Sebastian, Climate Policy Director at Jobs with Justice San Francisco. While their statements are damning, it’s not the professional advocates that Newsom should be worried about letting down. It’s California’s students.Last week in Capitol Weekly, Liliana Karesh, a senior at Napa High School in Napa, and Kasch Marquardt a senior at West Campus High School in Sacramento, wrote an essay begging Newsom to sign the legislation.
Last week in Capitol Weekly, Liliana Karesh, a senior at Napa High School in Napa, and Kasch Marquardt, a senior at West Campus High School in Sacramento, wrote an essay begging Newsom to sign the legislation.
In their post, the students outlined the trauma they’ve gone through for years. From COVID-19, to lockdowns, to yearly wildfires ravaging the state, to the uncertain future that climate change offers; today’s teenagers have already lived through more than many generations do in a lifetime.
Despite that, this generation must find a way to prepare for an uncertain future. The student authors outline why NOW, not next year or some unknown future year, was the time to pass this legislation. Without foreknowledge of the Governor’s veto, the student leaders outline why Newsom’s budget concerns are shortsighted:
This initiative is particularly timely given two major funding opportunities for schools. First, California will see a school infrastructure bond on the ballot this fall. It would be a missed opportunity if these billions weren’t spent in line with a plan to upgrade our schools with climate-resilient buildings and grounds.Second, the Inflation Reduction Act now offers California schools tax credits for clean energy infrastructure, including new HVAC systems, that can halve the cost of state-of-the-art systems. The problem is many schools are unaware these resources are available. A master plan would facilitate outreach to schools like ours and help align policy and investments to maximize this opportunity.
