California’s next governor faces a complex challenge: reducing silos within the state’s government. Overlapping agency jurisdictions often create barriers to action, hindering progress on critical issues like climate change. The Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment (CLEE) has offered advice to Governor Bacerra’s team, drawing on experience from previous administrations, particularly the Brown and Newsom Administrations. Their proposals encourage agencies to work together more effectively, ensuring unified efforts across departments, and immediately establishing the expectation that agency leads and staff must collaborate constructively to overcome bottlenecks and align public investments with climate goals.
To this end, CLEE has provided detailed suggestions based on the collective experience of its authors and contributors, emphasizing the need for collaborative leadership and cross-agency coordination.
Breaking Down Barriers
One key recommendation is to establish “Climate Principals,” mirroring the successful “Energy Principals” group under Governors Brown and Schwarzenegger. This ad hoc group would address climate change issues across agencies, ensuring a unified approach to the full spectrum of climate challenges. CLEE also suggests regular meetings with statewide officers, such as the Attorney General, Treasurer, Controller, Insurance Commissioner, and Superintendent of Public Schools, to support joint initiatives. These officers, who oversee functions outside the Governor’s direct control, could play a key role in breaking from tradition and driving collaborative efforts.
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Additionally, periodic discussions with legislative leaders and relevant committee chairs are proposed to build support for the governor’s environmental priorities. Such meetings can help align legislative actions with the Governor’s goals while keeping the Governor informed of legislative leadership’s priorities, ensuring a more cohesive approach to climate policy.
Coordinated Leadership
To ensure effective coordination, CLEE proposes creating a designated position within the Governor’s Office to oversee key priorities, such as renewable energy projects, wildfire response, or managing the energy and water impacts of data center buildouts. This approach, successfully implemented by Governor Schwarzenegger for large-scale solar projects and continued by Governor Brown, ensures clear communication of the governor’s priorities and commands the attention of all involved parties.
Agency budgets should be restructured to allocate resources for cross-agency collaboration, addressing the current perception of uncompensated workload. The Governor’s Office should work with Government Operations Agency and CalHR to develop a path for staff to allocate time to relevant cross-agency collaborative work.
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As California continues to tackle climate change, broadening agency leadership is essential. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has been the primary driver, but other agencies’ expertise must be integrated to address issues like land use, carbon management, agriculture, health, renewable energy, and workforce development. CARB should fully incorporate this diverse expertise to ensure a wide-ranging approach to climate action.
The Governor’s Office itself houses departments with relevant expertise, such as the Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) and the Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI). Empowering these departments to convene agencies and develop transition plans could accelerate progress, particularly in areas like zero-emission vehicle market development and land use resilience programs.
Avoiding Silo Pitfalls
By implementing these suggestions, the new administration can avoid silo pitfalls and accelerate climate solutions. Strong leadership and clear direction are essential to working through the inherent complexity of California’s executive branch. With a focus on collaboration and coordination, California’s government can work more effectively toward its climate and environmental goals, ensuring a sustainable future for the state. The Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) will play a key role in this effort, convening agencies to develop and execute transition plans by 2025, leveraging its expertise in environmental review and resilience programs.