Green Empowerment Zone for the Northern Waterfront area of the County of Contra Costa.

Senators Grayson and Cabaldon, with principal coauthors Senator Arreguín and Assembly Member Wilson and coauthor Senator Stern, advance SB 227 to extend the Green Empowerment Zone in the Northern Waterfront area of Contra Costa County through January 1, 2040, add four additional jurisdictions—El Cerrito, Pinole, Richmond, and San Pablo—and create a new environmental or environmental justice representation category on the zone’s board. The measure notes that current law authorizes the zone through January 1, 2028, and would preserve the zone's framework of incentives and programs within that extended horizon. The authors assert the necessity of a special statute for Contra Costa County and make the act effective as an urgency statute.

The bill would reshape governance by expanding and reorganizing the board of directors into eight stakeholder groups, with specific representation: fourteen local government directors (one from each participating city and the county); five employer directors representing large private energy or manufacturing employers; three state or regional directors drawn from designated state and regional bodies; five small business and economic development directors; three directors from universities, laboratories, foundations, or nonprofits with green energy expertise; five directors representing major private-sector labor organizations; five directors from workforce development and education entities (including at least one CSU and one community college); and seven directors who live or work in the zone representing environmental or environmental justice interests. Board nominees require majority confirmation, and every member may appoint an alternate. Directors serve two-year terms and may be reappointed for up to three additional terms. Ex officio voting membership includes legislators representing participating cities. A vacancy is filled through the same appointment process, and there are specified provisions for removal based on attendance and other standards; each board member is subject to conflict-of-interest procedures and must refrain from using the zone’s name without authorization. The steering committee is renamed the executive committee, and its membership is defined to include the chair, deputy chairs, and up to seven other directors; the executive committee is tasked with developing the zone’s progress metrics.

A central mechanism under SB 227 is the executive committee’s mandate to develop a set of progress metrics, including the number and net gain or loss of jobs by sector, the average wage of newly created jobs, the number and types of grants sought or received, and details on workforce training and associated capital investment. Beginning July 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, the Green Empowerment Zone must post these metrics on its website and submit a accompanying notice to the Legislature confirming that the report has been posted. The bill also provides a process for a city or county within the zone to remove land from the empowerment zone by resolution, with a final inclusion date no later than 60 days after adoption, and specifies that incentives awarded before removal continue under the same terms for at least two years after removal. Definitions clarify the terms “board” and “zone” for purposes of the chapter, and the act is set to remain in effect until January 1, 2040, when it would be repealed. The measure takes immediate effect under its urgency provision to support the zone’s governance and community participation.