Senate committee advances bill to lift California moratorium on CO2 pipelines, directs state fire marshal to adopt safety standards

Assemblymember Petrie Norris, the bill’s author, told the California State Senate Committee on Governmental Organization that AB 881 would let California move forward on carbon capture and storage projects by directing the state fire marshal to build on recent federal draft pipeline-safety guidelines and permit the lifting of the state moratorium on new carbon dioxide pipelines.

“AB 881 will leverage billions of dollars in federal support for carbon capture. It will help California meet our climate goals and it will create thousands of high road green jobs,” Assemblymember Petrie Norris said.

The bill responds to a moratorium the Legislature placed in SB 905 (2022), which halted the construction of new CO2 pipelines in California while the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) finalized safety standards. Petrie Norris said a PHMSA draft was released in January 2025 but the federal process was paused days later, leaving California in regulatory limbo.

Laura Lewis, chief legal and government affairs officer for the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD), testified the bill is important to SMUD’s plans. “SMUD has a goal to completely eliminate carbon from our power supply by 2030 within the guardrails of affordability and reliability,” Lewis said. She described a planned retrofit at a 550-megawatt natural gas plant near Yuba City that SMUD and a private partner expect to equip with carbon capture and storage; Lewis said AB 881 would allow projects of that type to proceed while protecting public health and safety.

Labor and industry groups also supported the measure. Scott Wych, testifying for the California State Pipe Trades Council, said the window for projects and related federal funding is time-limited and urged passage; Leah Barrows of Calpine and Mike Monaghan of the State Building Trades registered support as well.

Opponents urged stronger siting and safety requirements for pipelines near communities. Maureen Lou of the Central California Environmental Justice Network said CO2 pipelines “are hazardous compared to natural gas pipelines,” and warned that high-concentration CO2 releases can form dense clouds that pose asphyxiation risks. Lou cited an incident in Satartia, Mississippi, where responders had difficulty operating in areas affected by a CO2 release. Christina Scribe of the Center for Biological Diversity said her group and dozens of others oppose the measure in its current form and have offered language to add protections for sensitive receptors.

Committee members pressed the author on how state rulemaking would proceed. The author said federal draft rules would be used as a starting point and that the state fire marshal would adopt standards intended to be “the strongest in the nation,” incorporating community input and site-specific safety measures.

After discussion, the committee voted to pass AB 881 to the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. The roll-call vote was recorded as 14 ayes, 0 noes.

Why it matters: proponents say AB 881 would unlock federal funding and allow projects proponents argue are needed to meet California’s carbon removal targets; opponents say the measure does not yet provide adequate, location‑specific protections for communities living near proposed pipelines. The bill moves the technical, safety and siting debate into the next phase of rulemaking at the state fire marshal and continued committee review.