Feinstein goes to bat for Diablo Canyon + Senate R’s don’t like farmworker ‘card check’

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

FEINSTEIN URGES LAWMAKERS TO SAVE DIABLO CANYON

Diablo Canyon, California’s last remaining operational nuclear power plant, is set to close without legislative intervention.

The plant still has influential friends, including U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, who wrote to state lawmakers urging them to vote for SB 846, which would extend operations.

“Diablo Canyon, the last remaining nuclear power plant in the state, generates over 8% of California’s electricity, including 17% of the state’s carbon-free electricity, and is critical to the grid’s reliability,” Feinstein wrote. “I urge the legislature to pass this bill to keep this Diablo Canyon operational while the state develops other renewable energy sources.”

Feinstein notes in her letter that since the 2016 decision to shutter the plant, the effects of climate change have led to both increased need for energy and reduced energy output from the state’s hydropower sources due to drought.

“In August 2020, extreme heat led to electricity shortages and the first rolling blackouts in the state since the 2001 energy crisis. The consequences would have been even more severe without the electricity from Diablo Canyon,” she wrote.

While California has ambitious clean energy mandates in place, she said the state lacks the necessary wind, geothermal and solar infrastructure to replace the loss that would come with the closure of Diablo Canyon.

“At this time, the alternative to the closure of the reactors at Diablo Canyon will most likely be additional natural gas generation, which would reverse progress on emissions reductions and worsen air quality. The state would be better served by a temporary extension of an existing carbon-free resource,” she wrote.

Feinstein reminded lawmakers that Congress has provided $6 billion in funding, through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Civilian Nuclear Credit program, to prevent the nation’s remaining nuclear plants from closing. Feinstein said that Pacific Gas & Electric is a good candidate for that program.

The final decision on whether to close Diablo Canyon rests with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Feinstein notes, “which will conduct a thorough and rigorous safety and seismic review of the power plant, and confirm it is fit for extended operations. My staff has confirmed with the NRC that they are prepared to conduct this review in the necessary timeframe.”

SENATE REPUBLICANS URGE VETO OF FARMWORKER CARD CHECK BILL

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been less than receptive toward AB 2183, the farmworker union “card check” bill that got sent to his desk.

That means he may be more receptive to the Senate Republican Caucus, which is urging the governor to veto the legislation.

“This measure violates a right to vote in secret, a fundamental tenet of democracy. Under this process, union organizers can approach farmworkers in person and ask them to sign a card representing their vote for the union. Because these representatives will know how the workers voted, the workers would be more susceptible to intimidation, coercion, and threats of retaliation,” the caucus wrote in its letter to Newsom.

As the lawmakers point out, Newsom vetoed a similar bill, AB 616, last year. They encourage Newsom to do so again.

On the other hand, Newsom’s political ally in Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, sent out a tweet calling on Newsom to sign AB 2183 into law.

“CA farmworkers provide for our families — but far too many can’t provide for theirs because they are exploited and don’t have a voice on the job. We can mend this injustice by expanding workers’ rights,” Pelosi wrote.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Theory: The Democrats in Sacramento come up with some just simply crazy ideas so they can kill a few things and allow the Governor to veto a few things... thus drawing attention away from other crazy stuff.”

- California GOP consultant Matt Rexroad, via Twitter.

Best of the Bee:

• California lawmakers sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill Tuesday that would shield pregnant people from criminal and civil liability in the event of a self-induced abortion, miscarriage or stillbirth, via Andrew Sheeler.

• Sacramento County will get $25 million from the California budget to help homeless residents along the American River Parkway, where officials recently banned encampments, via Lindsey Holden.

• Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, knew the odds were tough and the deadline was short. But when Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month called on legislators to pass several environmental proposals, she decided to co-author one that would toughen rules related to oil and gas wells. As soon as the governor put out his plan, “I said I wanted to do it,” Gonzalez said. “If we don’t keep pushing we’re not going to get anything done,” via Stephen Hobbs.

• A measure that would allow farmworkers to vote by mail in union elections is headed back to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk, one year after he vetoed a similar version of the bill, via Mathew Miranda.