E2-Backed Bills Head to Gov. Newsom’s Desk, Including New Framework for Responsible Data Center Growth and Protections for California’s Coastline
SACRAMENTO, CA — The California Legislature wrapped up its 2026 session late last night, advancing multiple pro-consumer, clean energy initiatives awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature. As the world’s fifth-largest economy and a longstanding leader in climate and clean energy policy, California’s decisions help shape markets, attract investment, and drive innovation far beyond its borders.
As the session came to a close, several E2-backed priorities advanced to the Governor’s desk for his signature, including:
Legislation to ensure rapidly growing data centers contribute to a reliable, affordable, and clean electricity system:
- SB 2343 (Zbur) establishes a new tariff framework for data centers seeking transmission‑level retail electric service, ensuring cost transparency and preventing cost‑shifting to other customers.
- SB 886 (Padilla) creates a distinct tariff structure for data centers to ensure they pay the full costs of their transmission‑level interconnection and do not shift costs onto other ratepayers.
- SB 887 (Padilla) makes data‑center projects fully subject to CEQA (with no categorical exemptions) and creates an expedited judicial‑review pathway for “environmental leadership development projects” (ELDPs) that meet strict zero‑carbon, grid‑beneficial, and community‑benefit standards. It also extends ELDP eligibility to certain geothermal powerplant projects.
Other E2-backed priorities:
- AB 2313 (Berman) – Home Energy Choice Act: which will help households transition from gas to electric appliances while reducing long-term utility costs;
- SB 1213 (Reyes) – Medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks price transparency: which will bring greater price transparency to California’s medium- and heavy-duty electric truck market; and
- AB 1448 (Hart)- The California Coastal Protection Act: which will strengthen protections against new offshore oil and gas drilling while enhancing safeguards for California’s coastline.
“The legislature did its job and reached agreement on responsible data center growth and other issues critical to California’s economy and environment,”said Susan Nedell, Senior Western Advocate, E2. “Now it’s up to Governor Newsom to sign these bills to protect our environment, lower electricity costs and help California continue to lead the country in a transition to a clean energy economy.”
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E2 is a national, nonpartisan group of more than 13,000 business leaders across eight U.S. chapters who advocate for policies that are good for the economy and good for the environment. E2 members have founded or funded more than 2,500 companies, created more than 600,000 jobs, and managed more than $100 billion in venture and private equity capital.
Over its 26-year history, E2 has helped pass the policies that built America’s clean energy economy: State and federal renewable energy standards that created the market for the cheapest, most abundant, fastest-to-deploy electricity available; clean vehicle standards that paved the way for hybrid and electric vehicle adoption; energy efficiency standards that save billions of dollars in energy costs every year; and federal and state policies supporting advanced biofuels and sustainable agriculture. Learn more at e2.org.