SACRAMENTO – A coalition of 14 California-based and national environmental organizations is calling on state Sen. Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park), chair of the state Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee, to block Assembly Bill 942. They warn that the bill would betray and punish millions of rooftop solar adopters and undermine the state’s clean energy leadership.
In a July 8 letter, the groups describe AB 942, authored by Assemblymember Lisa Calderon (D-Whittier), a former Southern California Edison executive, as “the antithesis of good leadership.” The groups charge that the bill, if enacted, would retroactively break long-standing solar contracts while also prohibiting solar adopters from benefiting from the state’s climate change programs. These actions would also jeopardize the state’s climate goals at a moment when federal support for clean energy is under attack, they say.
The organizations that signed the letter include American Bird Conservancy, Audubon California, California Native Plant Society, CALPIRG, Center for Biological Diversity, Environment California, Environmental Action, Environmental Working Group, Greenpeace USA, Pacific Environment, Planning & Conservation League, Sierra Club California, The Climate Center and Vote Solar.
“California can’t afford to follow Washington’s lead in dismantling rooftop solar,” the letter states, referring to the “One Big Beautiful Bill” President Donald Trump signed into law last week. That law includes a provision that eliminates the 30% federal tax credit for clean energy. “
AB 942 would double down on this damage by eroding public trust and dismantling the policies that have made clean, affordable energy available to working- and middle-class families across the state,” the letter says.
Under the original solar net energy metering, or NEM, rules, homeowners were guaranteed long-term compensation for surplus solar power, regardless of property ownership changes. AB 942 would revoke those terms for new home buyers, harming the market for solar-equipped homes.
The measure would also set a dangerous precedent – that California won’t honor its clean energy commitments.
“This betrayal is not only unethical – it’s destructive,” the groups write. “It will lower home values, devastate the rooftop solar market, and erode consumer confidence in the state’s environmental leadership.”
Critical energy strategy
The stakes are high. Rooftop solar is a critical component of California’s strategy to reduce emissions from the electricity sector — the third largest source of carbon pollution in the state, according to the California Air Resources Board. Without robust rooftop solar growth, California’s climate targets become increasingly out of reach.
The groups’ letter also highlights the disproportionate impact AB 942 would have on low- and middle-income households. Over 60% of homes with solar installed under NEM 1.0 and 2.0 are working- and middle-class families who were drawn to solar for the long-term savings on utility bills. AB 942 would strip them and future buyers of those economic benefits, all while allowing investor-owned utilities to continue passing unnecessary costs on to ratepayers.
“The utilities claim this bill is about fairness,” the letter says. “But there’s nothing fair about breaking contracts and punishing families who did exactly what the state encouraged them to do: invest in clean energy.”
‘Californians are watching’
The coalition urges Becker to use his authority as energy committee chair to stop AB 942 from advancing. They stress that now is not the time for California to backslide, especially as Washington, D.C., moves in the opposite direction on clean energy.
“Californians are watching. Amid federal attacks on climate and clean energy, our state must lead. Let’s not hand the fossil fuel industry another victory by reversing one of California’s greatest environmental success stories,” the groups write.
A larger coalition of over 150 other community, justice, clean energy and environmental organizations previously sent a letter to the energy committee, also calling on it to stop AB 942.
###
The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action.
