LOS ANGELES, October 6, 2026 – With the passage of Assembly Bill 1457, signed into law by California Governor Gavin Newsom, the state is fundamentally shifting how local municipalities write their master plans. Over the last decade, low-income neighborhoods and communities of color have borne the heaviest burdens, living right next to diesel corridors, railyards, and heavy industrial sites. This law tries to change those structures that have been put in place by ensuring that the people are directly involved in the planning process.
Written by Assemblymember Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles) and co-sponsored by Attorney General Rob Bonta along with the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment (CRPE), this new law tries to fill up the loopholes that have been around for a long time. Back in 2016, the state had passed Senate Bill 1000, which had tried to mandate that there be an environmental justice element in all local general plans. However, there was one condition here.
Because the timelines for local planning efforts differ significantly from place to place throughout the state, many cities simply punted.
“A firm deadline means local governments cannot put this planning off, because every Californian should have the opportunity to live in a community that is healthy and safe,” Bonta pointed out during the legislative push.
Hence, communities like Wilmington, where people live in close proximity to oil refineries and breathe high amounts of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), have been waiting for years to see those promises materialize at the local level.
AB 1457 totally transforms the game. AB 1457 provides a statutory deadline by which any community that has recognized disadvantaged communities and has not adopted an environmental justice element in its general plan must do so by June 30, 2031.
In addition to establishing a hard deadline, the bill has completely revised the public engagement process to require real community engagement. Local planning authorities cannot simply put up a notice on their website after work hours anymore. Cities will now be required to engage in active outreach, provide full language services for non-English speakers, put up all draft materials on the Internet, and have accessible public meetings.
“California won’t stand idly by as our disadvantaged communities face significant environmental threats, including disproportionate exposure to polluted air, water, and soil,” Attorney General Bonta noted. He stated that having a deadline means that local officials will no longer be able to postpone doing this extremely important task, thus affirming the basic right of every Californian to live in a healthy environment.
For grassroots activists who have been working hard to pass this bill, the signing was a crucial moment. Community organizer Alma Martinez from CRPE said that the signing was a huge success for the front-line residents who have been waiting for years for their health and safety to become a priority in the municipal council chamber. Additionally, information provided by the Office of the Attorney General shows how important it is to close these procedural loopholes in order to hold municipal governments responsible for their most vulnerable residents. Information from the legislative tracking records by LegiStorm provides additional confirmation of the adoption of this law as part of the bigger strategy to build equity into the state administration practice.
Will every city reach the 2031 goal without delaying? Only time will tell. However, with legal deadlines and legal controls now in place, local governments will not be able to neglect environmental justice anymore.
