California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday appointed Liane Randolph, a member of the state’s Public Utilities Commission, as the next chair of the California Air Resources Board.
CARB oversees vehicle emissions, among other roles, and has battled with the Trump administration in recent years. Its policies have influenced manufacturing in the automotive sector for decades and will continue to do so with the state’s adoption of electric vehicles. In September, the governor ordered that all new vehicles sold in the state must be emissions-free by 2035. (See Can California Meet Its EV Mandates?)
“Cleaner air is essential for California’s families, and Liane Randolph is the kind of bold, innovative leader that will lead in our fight against climate change with equity and all California’s communities at heart,” Newsom said in a statement.
Current CARB chair Mary Nichols is retiring at the end of this year and is being considered by President-elect Joe Biden as head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to the Associated Press and other news outlets.
Randolph, 55, was named by former Gov. Jerry Brown to the CPUC in 2015 after years working in state government and in private practice as an attorney. She served as deputy secretary and general counsel at California’s massive Natural Resources Agency from 2011 to 2014 and as head of the state’s political watchdog, the Fair Political Practices Commission, during the tenure of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, from 2003 to 2007.
In a statement released by the CPUC, Randolph said she was “beyond excited and honored to join the path-breaking team at CARB, which has been at the forefront of environmental progress for decades.”
During Randolph’s time at the CPUC, the commission has dealt with California’s mandate to switch to 100% clean-energy resources, the massive gas leak at the Aliso Canyon storage facility and the bankruptcy of Pacific Gas and Electric after it was blamed for catastrophic wildfires.
Randolph is a centrist on the CPUC, often reaching decisions that her colleagues support but may be more business-friendly than some would like. For instance, Randolph oversaw PG&E’s general rate case that awarded the utility a $1.3 billion rate increase over the next three years, much of it to harden the utility’s grid against wildfires. (See PG&E Gets $1.3B Rate Hike, Cancels Mass Blackouts.)
Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves said she would vote for the decision to protect residents even though it would hit poorer households harder during the pandemic and economic downturn. Guzman Aceves also expressed doubt that PG&E would maintain and upgrade its long-neglected power lines.
Environmental justice groups had advocated for Guzman Aceves to be the next CARB chair, Politico reported.
Newsom named four other members to CARB: John Balmes, 70, professor of medicine and environmental health at the University of California, San Francisco, and at UC Berkeley; Belmont City Council member Davin Hurt, 45; Los Angeles attorney Gideon Kracov, 49; and Tania Pacheco-Werner, 36, assistant co-director of the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at California State University, Fresno.
Newsom will appoint Randolph’s successor on the five-member CPUC. All the appointments will require confirmation by the state Senate.