Ranking heat waves + Heat wave price gougers

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

NEWSOM RECEIVES LEGISLATION TO RANK HEAT WAVES

As a crippling heatwave scorches most of California this Labor Day weekend, lawmakers have sent Gov. Gavin Newsom a timely piece of legislation: AB 2238, a bill to create a heat wave ranking and warning system akin to the one used for hurricanes.

The bill was authored by Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, D-San Fernando Valley, and sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara.

“Extreme heat is a public health crisis. Climate change has quickly exacerbated this problem. Californians underestimate the deadly health impacts of these weather events, and as a result, they are not proactively preparing,” Rivas said in a statement. “With AB 2238, California can lead the nation with the country’s first extreme heat and ranking system. We need to legislate like our future, economy, and our livelihood all depend on it.”

Newsom has until the end of the month to sign or veto the legislation.

As Lara put it in a statement, urgent action is needed to protect Californians from the devastating impact of climate change.

“Heat waves are a ‘silent killer’ particularly of the elderly, our immigrant communities, and those with other health conditions, who can be protected by this early warning system,” Lara said.

The California Department of Insurance released a report in 2021 calling for the creation of such a system.

“Our new climate insurance report makes clear that we have a huge protection gap in California on extreme heat, which this bill will help close,” Lara said.

BONTA WARNS AGAINST HEAT WAVE PRICE GOUGERS

Speaking of heat waves, watch out for overpriced water bottles and other necessities to stay cool as temperatures climb.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is reminding merchants that price gouging is illegal, now that Gov. Newsom has declared a state of emergency.

“Going into Labor Day weekend, Californians across the state are bracing for brutal temperatures that will strain the electricity grid and threaten public health,” Bonta said in a statement. “Many may seek to prepare by purchasing backup generators and air conditioning units. That’s not an excuse for businesses to jack up their prices.”

California law generally prohibits raising prices by more than 10% from what an item cost before an emergency was declared.

“This law applies to those who sell food, emergency supplies, medical supplies, building materials, and gasoline. The law also applies to repair or reconstruction services, emergency cleanup services, certain transportation services, freight and storage services, hotel accommodations, and rental housing. Exceptions to this prohibition exist if, for example, the price of labor, goods, or materials has increased for the business,” according to the attorney general’s office.

Breaking the law can cost you up to $10,000 in fines and up to a year in county jail.

If you catch a gouger, you can report them by visiting oag.ca.gov/report.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“A reminder: workers don’t need permission to organize. Keep fighting.”

- California Labor Federation Executive Secretary-Treasurer Lorena Gonzalez, via Twitter.

Best of the Bee:

• Gov. Gavin Newsom’s eleventh-hour environmental agenda was largely successful, as California lawmakers mostly delivered on a series of proposals to cut emissions, protect communities from pollution and spur a cleaner energy future, via Stephen Hobbs.

• With California about to experience perhaps the hottest and driest start to September in its modern history, 16 of the state’s 17 major reservoirs entered the month below their historic average levels — several of them well below average, in another daunting reminder of California’s extraordinary ongoing drought and water concerns, via Michael McGough.

• With 28 million vehicles on the road, California can rightfully call itself the unofficial capital of American car culture. The Legislature, though, just passed a bill offering a $1,000 tax break to households that don’t have any, via Dale Kasler.

• California lawmakers failed early Thursday to push through a set of rules shoring up the state’s concealed carry gun laws following a Supreme Court decision that weakened permitting restrictions, via Lindsey Holden.

• California legislators approved a proposal early Thursday morning to keep Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant operating past its previously-scheduled shut down date in 2025, via Mackenzie Shuman and Stephen Hobbs.