Legislature Passes Senator Cortese’s Bill to Create High-Quality Jobs in Green Industry

The California Legislature has passed a bipartisan bill by Senator Dave Cortese to protect California communities from hazardous industrial pollution while securing high-quality, good-paying jobs in emerging sustainable industries.

Senate Bill (SB) 740 extends skilled and trained workforce standards to emerging green industries including hydrogen manufacturing, biofuels manufacturing, and carbon dioxide capture. The bill now advances to the Governor for his signature.  

“SB 740 is focused on protecting communities from dangerous factory accidents while growing the number of good-paying green energy jobs,” said Senator Cortese (D-San Jose). “We want to protect the environment, our neighborhoods, and our workforce, and grow our economy by partnering sustainable industry with skilled and trained California workers.”

A skilled and trained workforce ensures that workers are performing work in apprenticeable occupations. The Building Trades have 75,000 apprentices in California with a total membership of nearly 500,000.

“We are grateful for the bipartisan legislative support of SB 740. This bill will help California meet the climate crisis and keep communities safe,” said Chris Hannan, President, State Building and Construction Trades Council of California. “We appreciate Senator Cortese’s hard work and leadership on this bill and look forward to strong support from the Governor.”

SB 740 will ensure that workers in industrial facilities have the training and skills to properly perform their jobs and help prevent accidents and toxic discharges that harm local communities. The bill will also contribute to California’s emerging green workforce and help meet the state’s climate goals.

Senator Dave Cortese represents Senate District 15, which encompasses San Jose and much of Santa Clara County in the heart of Silicon Valley. Visit Senator Cortese’s website: https://sd15.senate.ca.gov

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