Divestment from Fossil Fuels Bill Does Not Receive a Public Hearing

SACRAMENTO — Senator Lena A. Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) issued the following statement after the chair of the assembly committee on public employment and retirement refused to allow Senate Bill 1173, The Fossil Fuel Divestment Act to have a public hearing in the committee. 

The bill would have significantly advanced state climate goals by requiring California’s two largest public pension funds to divest over $11 billion of fossil fuel investments by 2030.

“While I am deeply disappointed that my Senate Bill 1173 was not set for a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Public Employment and Retirement this week, I remain committed to the necessary and ongoing fight against the impacts of climate change on our state, and especially those communities in my district that are disproportionately impacted by the negative effects of the climate crisis,” said Senator Lena Gonzalez “Teachers and state employees whose retirement futures are invested by our state’s pension funds have long demanded that CalPERS and CalSTRS cease investing their money in fossil fuel companies, and this demand will only grow stronger and louder. I’m thankful for the hard work of our grassroots supporters at Fossil Free California, the California Faculty Association, and the youth climate activists with Youth Vs Apocalypse who helped move this bill out of the Senate and look forward to continuing this fight to ensure policy aligns with our state’s values as a world climate leader, and that we can pass on a livable planet to future generations. ”