Government Watch: April 23, 2026

The bill establishes a “Whale Desk” in the U.S. Coast Guard’s San Francisco station, where the public and mariners can report sightings and alert vessel operators when whales enter the area–preventing deadly collisions. It also directs the Coast Guard to evaluate innovative technologies for whale tracking and alerts, according to Liccardo’s office.

In 2025, the San Francisco Bay Area recorded 24 whale deaths in the region — 21 of them gray whales — the highest in 25 years. In July 2025, Liccardo penned a letter co-signed by the entire Bay Area delegation raising the alarm on the unprecedented number of whale deaths and demanding answers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on whether funding and staffing cuts impacted the agency’s ability to safeguard our oceans and marine life. In its response, NOAA cited ongoing ecosystem changes in Arctic feeding grounds — driven in part by climate change — that alter gray whale behavior and drive whales to enter the Bay in search of food, according to Liccardo’s office.

State government

• A bill that would help cities break up with Pacific Gas and Electric did not advance in the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. Authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, Senate Bill 875 would have reformed the process at the California Public Utilities Commission to allow cities that wish to exit PG&E, establish public utilities, and provide more affordable and reliable energy to residents, according to Wiener’s office.