This article is a follow-up to a previous CURRENTS article: Coordinating with State and Federal Agencies to Unlock Local Action.

In recent years, the California Climate & Energy Collaborative (CCEC), a program administered through CivicWell and supported by 3C-REN, BayREN, SoCalREN, as well as other numerous sponsors, has been working to strengthen lines of communication and ensure efficient feedback processes between State agencies and their local government counterparts. Across its programming, CCEC has worked to regularly submit comments on behalf of its statewide network of local government practitioners to directly shape the development of key state-administered programs and policies. CCEC has submitted comments on a number of programs including the 2022 CARB Scoping Plan, CEC Contractor Training Program, and the recent SB-100 Joint Agency Report, to name a few. While participation in standing input processes has been effective in elevating the needs of CCEC’s statewide network, in early 2023 it became clear that a more formalized approach to directly connect state agencies and local governments was necessary. When this need arose, CCEC was primed to step in and facilitate this connection. 

Over the past year CCEC has been working to bring together those across the state most focused on addressing barriers to advancing California’s energy and climate goals to coordinate and streamline efforts. To do so, CCEC established the State/ Local Energy & Climate Coordination (SLECC) Quarterly Meeting Series just over one year ago. These meetings were established to provide a statewide communication and ideation hub to help State and local leaders coordinate efforts to more rapidly unlock the unique potential of California regions and communities to address energy and climate goals. SLECC meetings are hosted through a partnership between CCEC, the Strategic Growth Council (SGC), the California Energy Commission (CEC), and the California Air Resources Board (CARB), with the SGC, alongside CCEC staff, serving as co-facilitator.

The first SLECC meeting took place prior to the start of the 14th Annual California Climate & Energy Forum, in June of 2023 in Santa Rosa, California. This initial meeting was co-hosted in partnership with the Local Government Sustainable Energy Coalition (LGSEC), facilitated by CCEC’s Statewide Best Practices Coordinator, Angela Hacker, and featured presentations from CEC, SGC, and CARB. The focus of this meeting was primarily on examining the ways in which local governments and State agencies can coordinate in closer collaboration to reduce engagement fatigue amongst locals and streamline the development of State-led programs. 

Since the kick-off of the SLECC Meeting Series in June of 2023, 7 total convenings (6 quarterly meetings and 1 ad-hoc workshop) have been held as of September, 2024. These meetings have covered those topics of highest interest and greatest importance to the group of just over 250 individuals now signed up to regularly participate in these meetings. Some of the topics covered have included identifying barriers and solutions to advancing energy reliability and addressing local load constraints, discussing essential ways in which the State can directly support local planning efforts, and strategizing around a systems-level approach to alleviate application burdens for local governments. 

In the first year of SLECC’s programming, conversations have focused primarily on identifying ways in which State and local practitioners can more closely collaborate with one another. In the coming year, SLECC plans to build on this momentum and work towards providing tangible solutions for meeting attendees. SLECC partners are currently working to plan for upwards of 4 regional convenings to take place throughout 2025. These convenings will focus on creating a lasting, two-way regional hub of communication and ideation that helps State and local leaders improve coordinated efforts, offering inclusive and participatory decision-making across State agencies and documenting priority needs and co-create operational solutions to advance place-based energy and climate action.

If you represent a local jurisdiction and want to be part of this critical point of collaboration, you have the opportunity to do so. To be a part of SLECC’s standing meetings, occurring once quarterly, you can sign up here. We will be sharing updates on the planning for SLECC’s 2025 regional convenings as we move forward in the planning process. If you would like to provide direct support for the planning of these events, including promotional support, staffing support on-site or co-production/sponsorship for these events, you can reach out to kwolfcloud@civicwell.org for more information. Thank you to those who have been involved in and supported SLECC programming over the last year. We look forward to continuing to advance this critical level of collaboration in the coming year.