A tool used by state agencies to help guide policy and billions of dollars in environmental funding is getting updated for the fifth time — but critics say that it still falls short of its intentions, writes CalMatters’ Alejandra Reyes-Velarde.
Developed in the 1990s, CalEnviroScreen evaluates different geographical regions in California on nearly two dozen environmental, public health and demographic factors. The tool then takes the top 25% most dire areas and designates them as “disadvantaged communities.”
Under state law, at least a quarter of funds from California’s cap-and-invest program go to these communities, and since 2015 they have received at least $5.8 billion. The Air Resources Board also uses CalEnviroScreen to determine which communities partake in its Community Air Protection program, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control are drafting rules to use the tool as a proxy for its permitting decisions.
An upcoming update would add two more indicators to track risks: Diabetes prevalence and small air toxic sites. It would also integrate more data benchmarks among some of the 21 indicators currently tracked. The spokesperson for the state agency that manages the tool said the imminent update does not dramatically change which communities are deemed disadvantaged, though it decreases the Bay Area and Central Valley’s rankings slightly.
Critics have skewered CalEnviroScreen over its limitations and applications, and its planned updates have not escaped critique. Bradley Angel, director of Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice, said because the tool doesn’t prevent the state from issuing permits, companies can still pay into the cap-and-invest program to keep polluting.
- Angel: “It’s great that CalEnviroScreen exists … but when communities and environmental justice groups were advocating for what became CalEnviroScreen, they weren’t looking at dollar signs. They were looking to protect our health.”
Officials expect the final version of the update to rollout this summer.
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Other Stories You Should Know
Reining in ticket scalpers to revitalize CA nightlife
Marked up concert tickets priced at more than 10 times their original value are the bane of many fans’ experience. But they could be a thing of the past in California if a proposal from a San Francisco legislator becomes law.
Democratic Assemblymember Matt Haney introduced a bill Thursday that would cap the resale price of concert, theater and other live event tickets to no more than 10% above face value. Sporting events are excluded in this measure.
In a statement, Haney said he wants to curb “large-scale profiteering” carried out by resale platforms and professional scalpers, rather than fan-to-fan transactions. A spokesperson for Haney’s office said the bill stemmed from conversations with artists and independent venues who said fans getting priced out of attending events hurt their local nightlife. Haney is the chairperson of the Assembly’s select committee on downtown recovery.
The bill would likely be considered in the Assembly’s committee on arts, entertainment, sports and tourism, and could be heard as early as March.
Workers seek job security in the face of AI
Labor unions are sending a message to Gov. Gavin Newsom: Protect our jobs from artificial intelligence or you won’t get our vote for president.
As CalMatters’ Khari Johnson explains, top union leaders gathered in Sacramento Wednesday to warn Newsom that their support for his likely bid for presidency in 2028 hinges on whether he signs legislation protecting workers from AI.
- Lorena Gonzalez, president of the California Labor Federation: “I don’t think you’re going to have a lot of motivation to walk precincts for somebody who won’t engage working class voters on the very things that are taking away their jobs.”
Gonzalez said that the labor federation intends to back about two dozen bills this year that aim to address how AI negatively affects workers, including ones that would regulate how managers can use predictive AI and require advance notice of AI-related job cuts.
California’s budget increasingly relies on tax revenue from tech and AI companies, and the governor must strike a balance between appeasing workers and supporting Big Tech. Meanwhile, companies such as Meta and OpenAI are bolstering political action committees that support pro-AI candidates.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: The recent separate scandals involving Newsom’s former chief of staff and Southern California politicians serve as a reminder that California has had its share of corruption since the founding of the state.
California State University is walking back promised raises and salary step increases for its frontline workers, despite receiving full state funding to do so, writes Ernesto Torres, facilities project supervisor at CSU San Bernardino and a vice president for Teamsters Local 2010.
Other things worth your time:
CA leaders decry Trump call to ‘nationalize’ election, say they’re ready to resist // Los Angeles Times
Toxic mushroom superbloom fuels CA’s largest poisoning outbreak // San Francisco Chronicle
Environmental, tribal groups slam Bay-Delta deal over weak flow rules // The Sacramento Bee
Inside the polarizing plan to stash carbon in a CA wetland // Grist
SF teachers will strike next week // KQED
Ten years of fentanyl: How the deadly drug still has SF in its grip // The San Francisco Standard
The long goodbye: A CA couple self-deports to Mexico // The New York Times
Moreno Valley votes against warehouse moratorium, bucking local trend // Los Angeles Times