Senator Brian Jones’ Statement on the Environment

We are all stewards of our environment, in our local neighborhood, our region, our state, our nation, and our Earth itself.

Sadly, if you look around our state, trash overflows our streets and waters. We need to clean up California and leave it a better place for the next generation.

As science and technology advance, we have an opportunity to help better conserve our resources, protect our environment, and chart out innovative and productive ways to live in the future.

To take full advantage of new technologies, we must seek bipartisan solutions to protect our environment on reasonable consumer and market-based timetables. 

For example, I proudly supported Senate Bill 54 (Allen, 2020), also known as the “Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act.” This bipartisan bill is a strong, meaningful compromise between environmentalists and industry to make positive changes for our future. I believe bills such as this one will help us create a cleaner environment, thanks to the help of emerging technologies, and will greatly improve quality of life for Californians by reducing trash pollution.

Another critical environmental issue facing California is the threat of wildfires. I am encouraged that many of us, Republican and Democrat legislators, have worked together to implement necessary measures to help prevent, reduce, and fight wildfires – one of the major sources of air pollution in the state that threatens our safety and livelihoods.

While I’m encouraged by efforts on wildfires so far, there is still a lot of work to do such as forest thinning, prescribed burns, power line hardening, vegetation management, and increasing firefighting personnel, trucks and equipment. These are practical, effective, and science-proven tools to fight wildfires.

Unfortunately, important environmental issues such as trash pollution and wildfires have been politicized by extremists who claim mandated electric cars and solar power will cure all our problems. While banning our electricity sources may generate headlines, it hurts disadvantaged Californians who are struggling to pay monthly utility bills. Likewise, financially struggling families can hardly afford a tank of gas, let alone a brand new electric car. These real-world challenges are often overlooked in climate change discussions. Despite all the politization and hysterics, I intend to continue pursuing science-based solutions that have real impacts and will not destroy the livelihoods of hardworking Californians.