California Enacts Slew Of New Laws

Plastic bags, flame retardants, and climate change are among the targets of legislation that California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed into law in late September. One new law makes California the first state to outlaw single-use plastic bags, starting in mid-2015. “We’re the first to ban these bags, and we won’t be the last,” Brown says. The governor also signed legislation that requires labels on upholstered furniture sold in the state to indicate whether the items contain flame-retardant chemicals. Other new California laws that Brown approved address human-caused climate change. One requires the state’s Air Resources Board to come up with a plan to reduce short-lived pollutants linked to global warming—black carbon, methane, some hydrofluorocarbons, and ground-level ozone. Another directs the state to reduce emissions of methane from aging natural gas pipelines. A third calls on the California Natural Resources Agency to create a database that localities can use in preparing for sea-level rise.