Capitol Voice April 2025

By Jakob Evans

Our policy staff is hard at work for the environment as legislation has begun moving through policy committees. This year, a whopping 2,350 bills were introduced in the state legislature. Of these thousands, Sierra Club California tracks, analyzes, and advocates on hundreds of pieces of legislation that will impact California’s environment and its people.

This week, we released our Priority Bill List for 2025. This list represents a sampling of the bills that our staff lobby on throughout the year and serves as our best assessment of which bills will need strong efforts to pass or block in 2025. The legislative landscape will evolve as this session progresses, and the priority list will be regularly updated in response. Check back often at our front page for our most up-to-date list.

If you’re wondering how the sausage gets made: Sierra Club California sets positions on bills guided by a committee of experienced volunteers who contribute their expertise on various issue areas. Following the bill introduction deadline, these volunteers engage in thorough reviews of proposed legislation to determine Sierra Club California’s positions. Our staff provides position recommendations, and our volunteer legislative committee has the final say, ensuring that our positions are consistent with Sierra Club policy, prioritize the planet's well-being, and uphold principles of equity and environmental justice.

Volunteers are critical in advocating for the bills on this list. Reaching out to your legislator to discuss bills from the priority list that you are concerned about makes a real difference. Volunteers across the state can also collaborate with their local chapter's political committee to participate in in-district lobbying efforts, with detailed guidance available on our website.

As the session progresses, Sierra Club supporters will receive emails from Sierra Club California with updates on our priority bills and alerts to take action by advocating to your legislator. Sierra Club California’s presence in the Capitol is fueled by volunteer action, and every individual contribution makes a difference. We’re ready to create meaningful change in the legislature this year, and we hope you are too.

By Caty Wagner

Sierra Club California recently participated in a press conference to announce the results of the much-anticipated poll conducted by our ally, Restore the Delta, about Californians’ attitudes on the Delta Conveyance Project (Delta Tunnel), an expensive and environmentally destructive water infrastructure project. The poll found that after hearing arguments for and against the Tunnel, 58% of voters oppose the Tunnel — 24 points higher than the 34% who favor building it.

The poll, conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, found that rather than irreversibly damaging the Delta ecosystem, the vast majority of voters across party lines prefer developing local water supplies (62%) to building the Delta Tunnel (24%). Sierra Club California has long advocated against the various iterations of the tunnel in favor of local, sustainable projects. Last week, a new UCLA study found that California isn’t recycling enough waste water, at only 22% compared to 85% in Nevada and 52% in Arizona. The three planned water recycling projects in the works in Southern California could increase that number to 56%. Met’s Regional Recycled Water Program will create 50,000 jobs during construction and 1,000 permanent facility jobs.

Once voters learn more about the DCP and its costs, opposition to the Tunnel increases significantly (43% favor to 40% oppose in the Informed Vote). Learning more about the Delta itself drives much of this opposition, and 77 percent of voters say the Delta is very or extremely important to California after a brief description. The project is estimated to cost $20.1 billion dollars, but importantly this is measured in 2020 dollars, and does not account for inflation. Construction costs are very likely to increase for a project of this size, especially with so many lawsuits against it, as well as Trump’s tariffs.

Last spring, The Metropolitan Water District (MWD) doubled property taxes, and increased water rates by 8.5% this year, and an additional 8.5% next year. A vote last December to fund the DCP’s permitting and planning through 2027 led to another increase of 6% that year. These numbers would increase astronomically to fund the actual construction of the project, and likely would not leave Met able to afford the DCP’s sister project, Sites Reservoir, plus Pure Water, or any other local projects or innovative new technologies.

Wildfire and drought are top of mind for Californians, especially given the devastating wildfires in Southern California this year, with an expected economic loss between $28 and $54 billion. The recent fires highlight a need to invest in resilient infrastructure to keep water supplies safe and make communities whole after disasters in the future. The DCP isn’t expected to be completed until 2055, but local projects can be brought online faster.

The press conference was covered by the LA Times and Daily Kos among others. Restore the Delta, Sierra Club California, and our allies will be meeting with legislators and water agencies in the coming weeks to discuss the poll results and next steps for opposing the Delta Tunnel.

 

Welcome Our New Director, Miguel Miguel!

By Michael Blenner

Please welcome our new Director Miguel Miguel (he/him) to Sierra Club California! Miguel joined us this month from Pacoima Beautiful, a grassroots environmental justice organization that provides education, impacts local policy, and supports local arts and culture in order to promote a healthy and sustainable San Fernando Valley.

As Director, Miguel will supervise all Sierra Club California staff, and be responsible for the strength, functioning, and growth of Sierra Club California and the impact of the organization’s work across the state. He will work alongside the Sierra Club California Executive Committee, our network of 13 local chapters across the state, and staff across the organization to grow our base of member support, design and execute effective campaigns, engage donors, and achieve our organizational priorities in the state legislature and at state agencies.

You can read Miguel’s full bio below. Stay tuned for Miguel’s first Letter from Sacramento later this month, and upcoming communications from him on our legislative and advocacy campaigns.

Miguel Miguel Bio
Miguel Miguel joined Sierra Club California as Director in April 2025. He leads the organization’s operations, political strategy and advocacy work across the state. Prior to Sierra Club, Miguel served as the Policy Director for Pacoima Beautiful focused on fighting for environmental policies in the communities he calls his home. Miguel is born and raised in Los Angeles, and has worked in the environmental world for nearly a decade across multiple issue areas. He first started his career as a geologist working alongside tribal nations and archeologists preserving cultural resources. Miguel later worked for the City of Los Angeles and the University of California Los Angeles while pursuing his masters in Urban and Regional Planning.