SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A state Senate committee held an initial hearing on a first-of-its-kind proposed law in the U.S. concerning airport security.

If passed, the law would mandate that private companies like Clear either establish and finance their own dedicated TSA-staffed security lanes or face a ban from all nine California airports utilizing the service.

As air travel increases, so do crowds and tensions, unless travelers can afford a shortcut service. Clear members pay $189 for a service that verifies their identity using facial, iris, and fingerprint biometrics unique to each traveler.

Fullerton Democrat Senator Josh Newman criticized Clear, stating it fails to deliver on its promises.

“This service, as part of the larger system, would enhance the efficiency of airports and also improve security. And in fact, neither of those things is actually the case. What your membership does, is it gives you the right to to cut the line,” said Newman.

Rapper Guapdad 4000 said his Clear membership often determines whether he catches his flight.

“I do a lot of traveling in the summer and my team has to come with me, photographer, manager and, if we’re all late for the flight, or if we all need to be moving at a faster pace, it’s cool to have that access,” he said.

During non-busy times, TSA PreCheck, Clear, or the general security line don’t make much difference, as travelers pass through TSA quickly. However, during peak travel seasons, it makes quite a difference.

Newman likened Clear to an extra-cost theme park pass, allowing holders to bypass waits at popular rides but in a public facility.

“Do we want all of us taxpayers who paid for a public asset, like TSA, to have unequal access?”questioned Newman.

A Southwest passenger said, “I think for those who can afford it, it would be a nice luxury, but not everybody can afford that.”

Newman wants Clear to finance an additional dedicated TSA security lane at each airport, similar tp Delta Airlines with its Delta One service at Los Angeles International Airport.

Clear said it is improving conditions by “creating hundreds of jobs, sharing more than $13 million in annual revenue with our California airport partners, and serving nearly 1 million Californians to ensure all travelers have a safer, easier checkpoint experience.”

Newsom raised concerns about security breaches.

“There’s lots of cases, over the last couple years, where unauthorized travelers have used Clear as a way of breaching TSA security,” he said.

Several airlines, including Southwest, United, and JetBlue are pushing back against the bill, saying that the revenue lost from Clear could result in increased airfares. 

By Robert Burnson

Tesla Inc. was sued by a former employee who claims the company’s decision to lay off about 10% of its workforce in a global retrenchment violated the law by failing to provide required advance notice.

Tesla “acted intentionally and with deliberate indifference and conscious disregard to the rights of its employees” by not giving a warning 60 days ahead as mandated by California law, according to the complaint filed in state court in San Jose.

Is Musk controversy responsible for Tesla’s struggles?

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk revealed the job cuts last week in an email to staff, citing duplication of roles and the need to reduce costs. It was projected that if the dismissals apply company-wide, they would amount to more than 14,000 employees.

The electric-car maker faced similar claims when it laid off more than 500 employees at its battery factory near Reno, Nevada, in 2022. The company won a ruling  that pushed the dispute out of federal court in Austin, Texas, and into arbitration.

Most Americans are unaware that reducing methane emissions is the single most impactful action we can take right now to slow global warming.

This super-pollutant’s ability to trap heat and warm the planet is about 80 times greater than carbon dioxide. When people think of methane, it’s often of belching cows or leaking pipes, but our trash piling up in landfills is actually the third largest source of human-caused methane pollution in the United States.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) set the standard for regulating methane emissions from landfills. Now, thanks to huge advances in technology and ever-evolving research and data, we can see just how prevalent and damaging methane emissions continue to be.

The good news is that CARB can use this new information to do what it has always done best — take action and lead the nation in finding, capturing and controlling dangerous pollution.

Today, California ranks second in the nation for methane emissions from municipal solid waste landfills, with estimated emissions equivalent to the carbon dioxide emitted from 5 million cars driven for a year. Three hundred landfills are responsible for a disproportionate amount of the state’s overall methane emissions caused by buried food scraps and other organic waste that steadily decompose under mountains of trash.

And the latest research — led by the non-profit Carbon Mapper — reveals that landfills are sending methane into the air at a rate that’s 40% higher than previously estimated, with concentrated plumes persisting for months or even years in landfills across California. These invisible emissions represent an untapped opportunity to address climate change and help California meet its recent commitment to slash methane pollution 40% by 2030 compared to 2013 levels.

Tamping down on methane pollution also protects California communities from the other toxic pollutants spewed by landfills. Emissions like volatile organic compounds worsen respiratory illnesses and a myriad of health impacts for people living in the shadow of these facilities. Residents near the notorious Chiquita Canyon Landfill have spent years suffering from symptoms like dizziness, headaches, nausea and worse.

Achieving California’s statewide target of diverting 75% of its organic waste from landfills is critical. Millions of Californians have embraced this goal and diverted green waste to recycling centers for composting. But the existing garbage in our landfills must still be dealt with for decades to come.

One straightforward solution is for CARB to quickly update its regulations to require stronger landfill management practices that include not only aerial surveys like those used to conduct Carbon Mapper’s study, but also ground sensors, drones and satellites that can provide an accurate picture of methane emissions.

Other readily available, common-sense requirements to prevent leaks include using more protective material for landfill cover, taking steps to reduce downtime for gas collection systems, and setting more stringent methane emissions levels. None of these practices require moonshot technology or break the bank, and every one of them can be implemented with relative ease. Most importantly, they put an emergency brake on global warming at a time when it’s urgently needed.

California has always embraced technology to lead the nation on tackling our toughest environmental and public health challenges. Now, CARB has the opportunity to once again set the national standard for proven solutions to protect communities, stop pollution and slow global warming.

Gina McCarthy is the former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and served as the first White House National Climate Adviser. She is the managing co-chair of climate action coalition America Is All In.