After the California Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that Monterey County could not enforce its voter-approved ban on new oil and gas wells, there has been a wave of threatened and actual litigation by the oil and gas industry against local ordinances seeking to constrain oil and gas development. This has generated regulatory uncertainty and may chill local governments not already subject to litigation in their efforts to rightfully exercise their land use authority.

UCLA School of Law professor Ann Carlson has been honored with election to the membership of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies.

The urgent challenge of climate change and the growth of new distributed energy resources has disrupted the electricity sector, creating space for new stakeholders and new visions. But these debates over the energy transition are playing out against a cost-of-living crisis in California. The soaring costs of our electric power system are compounding this broader cost-of-living strain and burdening a substantial number of low- and middle-income customers. So, how can policymakers work toward the state’s climate goals and prioritize equity?