Natural Resources committee advances polluters‑pay fund, biomass funding, offshore wind reporting, firefighter hiring pathway and SAF bill

The Assembly Natural Resources Committee advanced a package of climate, forest- and energy-related bills after a multi‑hour hearing that drew hundreds of public speakers and labor witnesses. The panel moved AB 1243, a measure the author described as “the polluters pay climate super fund act of 2025,” along with bills to fund forest biomass reuse, require reporting on developer funding for offshore wind community capacity, create a hiring pathway for formerly incarcerated CAL FIRE hand crew members, and to streamline judicial review for certain sustainable aviation fuel projects.

The measures drew broad public support from environmental and justice groups and organized youth, and broad opposition from many building‑trade unions and business groups who warned of job losses and higher costs. Committee members debated the tradeoffs between creating new revenue for resilience and the bills’ possible effects on in‑state jobs, refinery operations and consumer prices.

AB 1243 — the polluters‑pay bill — would direct CalEPA to (1) identify companies responsible for at least 1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2024, (2) commission a climate‑cost study quantifying damages to California, and (3) assess fees on the largest fossil fuel polluters proportional to their emissions and the state’s damages. “This bill is a reasonable, responsible and revenue‑smart approach to addressing the escalating costs to taxpayers of climate destruction in California,” the author told the committee. Supporters, including Mya Goldin Krasner of the Center for Biological Diversity and Mabel Tsang of the California Environmental Justice Alliance, said the proposal would protect taxpayers and direct funds to resilience projects and communities most affected by pollution. Opponents led by the California Building and Construction Trades Council, the California Chamber of Commerce and the Western States Petroleum Association warned that the bill could drive refinery closures, increase fuel prices and cost thousands of jobs.

Several committee…