Assemblymember Boerner Introduces "The Families and Neighborhood Safety Act" to Protect Communities' Right to Clean Air and Water

Assemblymember Tasha Boerner (D-Encinitas) introduced AB 2170 — the Families and Neighborhood Safety Act — on March 24, 2026, to increase transparency and community protections around industrial projects in California. The bill specifically targets hazardous facilities such as landfills, nuclear plants, and chemical production facilities that carry the highest risk of harm to residents living nearby.

AB 2170 would require environmental review for industrial projects most likely to harm vulnerable communities, and would mandate translation and public notice requirements to ensure residents can access information about proposed development in their neighborhoods.

Assemblymember Boerner framed the legislation in terms of the long-term costs of inadequate review. "Environmental review makes projects better and saves Californians billions of dollars down the line," Boerner said. The press release cited $750 million in cleanup costs from lead pollution from a single Exide battery plant, along with billions spent statewide on contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS or "forever chemicals").

Anabel Marquez of the Committee for a Better Shafter — a Central Valley community advocacy organization — said the bill speaks directly to the experience of rural communities that have absorbed industrial development without adequate notice or input. "Our community deserves clear and honest information about new industrial projects," Marquez said.

Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, which supported the legislation, emphasized that the placement of harmful industrial projects carries long-term consequences for low-income communities of color that have historically had the least political power to push back. The organization works directly with communities in California's Central Valley that have faced exactly this pattern of industrial siting.

Source: Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability | https://leadershipcounsel.org/assemblymember-boerner-introduces-the-families-and-neighborhood-safety-act/