What matters to me today is: SB 1087: Newsom’s Housing Versus Climate Crossroads
The Legislature sent Governor Gavin Newsom its double down on Governor Schwarzenegger’s 2008 blueprint for forging “sustainable communities” throughout California. Newsom must now decide whether Schwarzenegger’s SB 375 remains the pathway for balancing California’s housing crisis with its unprecedented climate ambitions—or whether those objectives now demand more individualized treatment.
I was on the front lines of forging SB 375 as AB 32 handed sweeping authority to the California Air Resources Board, then led by Chair Mary Nichols. CARB was dissecting the economy sector by sector, inventorying emissions and developing reduction mandates. Light-duty transportation—passenger vehicles tied directly to land use and housing patterns—was squarely in its sights.
The fear was that climate regulation and CARB’s seemingly limitless authority under AB 32 would become a Trojan horse for state intrusion into land-use authority traditionally reserved to local governments. Negotiations were tense. The compromise embodied in SB 375 linked transportation planning, land-use strategy, and emissions reduction while preserving local authority. Chair Nichols declined to formally declare SB 375 sufficient AB 32 compliance for the homebuilding sector but informally agreed to stand down on further regulation pending evidence of its success.
SB 1087 now significantly rewrites the procedures and certifications governing Regional Transportation Plans and Sustainable Communities Strategies and their implications for the production of housing.
Newsom’s decision will establish whether California doubles down on Schwarzenegger’s model—or signals preference for a different path. Either way, it will speak volumes about Newsom’s national ambitions and intentions for 2028 and beyond.
That’s what matters to me today in 250 words or less. What matters to you? I’d really like to know.