Governor Signs Bill to Expedite Port’s Pier Wind Project
CALIFORNIA — Gov. Gavin Newsom Sept. 30 signed a bill allowing the Port of Long Beach to streamline the design and construction of Pier Wind, a proposed 400-acre terminal to facilitate the assembly and deployment of floating offshore wind turbines.
Assembly Bill 2235, authored by Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal, will reduce costs and accelerate the timeline to complete the proposed Pier Wind project, which would be the largest facility of its kind in the United States and would help California meet its goals for renewable energy sources.
“We now have the ability to plan and build Pier Wind in a way that is smarter, faster and more cost-effective, thanks to Gov. Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assemblymember Josh Lowenthal guiding this critical legislation to approval,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero. “I would also like to thank our labor partners from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the State Building and Construction Trades Council of California for collaborating with us to ensure the future success of this important project. Pier Wind will help the state meet climate goals, create jobs and economic opportunities for local communities, and establish a new green energy industry along the West Coast.”
Pier Wind would allow for the staging, storage and assembly of some of the world’s largest offshore wind turbines, standing as tall as the Eiffel Tower. The fully assembled turbines would be towed by sea from the Port of Long Beach to wind lease areas 20 to 30 miles off the coast in Central and Northern California to help the state and federal government meet their renewable energy goals.
The proposed project is undergoing extensive environmental review by local, state and federal regulatory agencies as the Port of Long Beach gathers input from the community. If approved, construction of the $4.7 billion project could start as soon as 2027, with the first 200 acres completed in 2031, and the final 200 acres coming online in 2035.
Amsterdam-Style Cannabis Cafes Just Became Legal in CA
SAN FRANCISCO — Gov. Newsom Sept. 30 signed Assemblymember Matt Haney’s (D-San Francisco) legislation that allows local California governments to license Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes. AB 1775, authored by Haney, received strong bipartisan support in the California Legislature, having passed out of the Senate with a 30-7 vote, and the Assembly with a 63-5 vote.
California is famous for its cannabis culture driven by the state’s early adoption of medical cannabis and expertise in cultivation. But California fails to keep up with one city for the world title of cannabis culture: Amsterdam. In the Netherlands, Amsterdam’s cannabis cafes thrive as a part of the city’s unique social structure, and capitalizes on the social nature of cannabis through coffee, food, and live music — all opportunities that are currently illegal under California law. AB 1775 will allow cannabis retailers to diversify their business and move away from the struggling and limited dispensary model by selling non-cannabis-infused foods.
A previous version of the bill, AB 374, was vetoed last year by Governor Newsom, who urged in his veto message to reintroduce the bill to include more protections for cannabis workers. This year, Assemblymember Haney reintroduced the bill with the support of the United Commercial and Food Workers to ensure cannabis lounge workers are protected from secondhand smoke impacts at work.
The bill levels the playing field for the highly taxed and regulated legal cannabis industry that is being forced to compete in California with a thriving cannabis black market. The illegal sale of cannabis is extremely profitable in California with illegal sellers choosing to simply ignore costly regulations, product testing, permitting, and taxation. California’s legal cannabis sales reached $4 billion in 2020, while illegal sales are believed to have surpassed $8 billion that same year.
The bill goes into effect January 1st. And with approval from local governments, Californians should be able to enjoy cannabis cafes as early as the new year.