Energy: equitable clean energy supply chains and industrial policy in California.

Senator McNerney, together with Assembly Members Petrie-Norris, Ransom, and Zbur, advances a framework to embed equitable clean energy supply chains and industrial policy within California’s energy strategy, creating a Senior Counselor position within the Energy Commission to coordinate interagency work, public data, and stakeholder engagement around offshore wind, batteries, and building decarbonization.

The measure establishes a cross-agency structure aimed at shaping in-state production and deployment. It designates a Senior Counselor who will collect data on costs, prices, technology pathways, deployment rates, and workforce needs, and publish this information publicly. The counselor coordinates firms, industry associations, labor unions, and other stakeholders to develop an integrated California clean energy and decarbonization ecosystem and identifies priority in-state growth segments. The counselor also serves as a central point of contact between state agencies and companies seeking to site, expand, or retain production in California, and is required to convene at least two public meetings annually. In addition, the counselor chairs working groups focused on home batteries, vehicle batteries, grid-scale batteries, battery recycling, offshore wind, and building decarbonization; these groups may include a broad mix of representatives and are tasked with identifying regulatory and policy changes to accelerate in-state growth, deployment, job creation, and environmental justice, including responsible materials sourcing. The bill also directs consideration of tools such as stockpiles of equipment, procurement approaches, advanced market commitments, public equity or investment, public-private joint ventures, state-owned enterprises, pension-fund coordination, bond issuance, and price management as part of potential statutory and regulatory changes.

Concurrently, six state entities—an energy, economic development, labor, utility regulation, procurement, and treasurer’s office constellation—must enter into a memorandum of understanding to pursue equitable clean energy supply chains and industrial policy. The memorandum outlines goals to build integrated industrial bases for zero-emission vehicle and battery supply chains, offshore wind, and building decarbonization; to accelerate deployment of batteries, heat pumps, and offshore wind; to create high-road jobs for California workers; to create pathways for workers from disadvantaged and Native American communities through apprenticeship and joint labor-management training; to ensure environmental justice in supply chains; and to reduce electricity and energy costs for public purchasers and all Californians, particularly low-income and tribal communities. The MOUs require coordination across research and development, economic development, industry incentives, utility and infrastructure programs, siting services, and the integration of workforce standards into state awarding processes. The Senior Counselor is charged with tracking the MOUs and producing an annual public report on findings and recommendations.

A new Equitable Clean Energy Supply Chain and Industrial Policy Fund is created in the State Treasury to support the measure’s purposes, with allowable deposits from federal funds and private donations or local government contributions. Expenditures from the Fund require legislative appropriation, and there is no automatic ongoing appropriation. The implementation timetable envisions the Senior Counselor designation and MOUs in place by March 1, 2027, followed by ongoing public meetings and annual reporting published by the Energy Commission, with funds and activities contingent on future budgets and appropriations. The bill’s findings and intent underscore a view that coordinated interagency planning—alongside labor, environmental justice considerations, and in-state supply-chain development—can influence the deployment pace, cost dynamics, and job opportunities in batteries, building decarbonization, and offshore wind, while seeking to align public investments with broader equity goals.

Contextually, the authors assert that California aims to accelerate a green economy through integrated policy making, interagency collaboration, and market-building tools, including procurement and public investment mechanisms. The measure is additive to existing energy and industrial policy infrastructure, emphasizing data transparency, stakeholder participation, and cross-agency alignment. Implementation outcomes will depend on future appropriations, regulatory proposals, and subsequent statutory actions that may follow the MOUs and the Senior Counselor’s work.