Late yesterday, California governor Gavin Newsom announced that California Air Resources Board (CARB) Chair Liane Randolph will be retiring from state service effective 30 September 2025. Newsome named Senior Advisor to the Governor for Climate Lauren Sanchez* to serve as the next CARB Chair. Chair Sanchez starts 1 October 2025 and assumes Chair Randolph’s current term which ends in December 2026. The appointment is subject to state Senate confirmation. It is inarguably the most powerful position in the Clean Air movement now that the US EPA has abandoned its role on protecting the environment and dealing with planet threatening Global Warming. (read AutoInformed.com on: Environmental Pillage Agency attacks California)**
“Serving the public has been the honor of a lifetime and I am incredibly proud of everything the agency has accomplished over the last five years. I thank Governor Newsom for the opportunity, my fellow board members for their partnership, and CARB staff for their unwavering dedication to the mission of clean air and a better future for all Californians,” said Chair Randolph.
“As I leave state service, I do so with gratitude and hope — knowing the next generation is ready to lead with courage, compassion and conviction. Lauren brings intellect, tenacity and a deep commitment to California. I pass the baton with full confidence in her ability to carry this work forward with heart and vision,” Randolf said.
During her time as Chair, CARB expanded its focus on improving conditions in communities that suffer from the highest levels of air pollution in the state. The Board also adopted landmark climate and environmental policies, including the 2022 Scoping Plan laying out California’s path to carbon neutrality by 2045, and implementing Governor Newsom’s 2020 executive order on zero-emission vehicles, accelerating the transition to a cleaner transportation system.
Other agency accomplishments during Chair Randolph’s term include:
- Adopting a plan that ended agricultural burning in the San Joaquin Valley
- Overseeing a plan to expand the Community Air Protection Program to 64 communities that have been consistently nominated for the program
- Putting nearly $10 billion into projects through the California Climate Investments program using revenue from Cap-and-Invest auctions, also known as Cap-and-Trade
- Adopting regulations to advance zero-emission technology including Advanced Clean Cars II, Advanced Clean Fleets, In-Use Off-Road Diesel-Fueled Fleets, Small Off-Road Engine Exhaust Emission and In-Use Locomotive rules
- Launching Clean Truck Check, a comprehensive inspection program for heavy-duty vehicles
- Updating the Low Carbon Fuel Standard to drive private investment toward cleaner fuels
- Initiating the Carbon Capture, Removal, Utilization, and Storage program
- Launching a first-in-the-nation satellite project to reduce methane leaks
- Started rulemaking for corporate greenhouse gas emissions and climate-risk reporting
- Working with the legislature to extend the Cap-and-Invest program to 2045
“Lauren has been my most trusted climate advisor and the chief architect of California’s bold climate agenda — helping deliver billions in new investments and cementing our state’s role as the global leader in the fight for a clean, healthy, job-creating future,” said Governor Newsom. “She is a force in her own right: her expertise, tenacity, and vision will serve California well as the Board works to protect our communities and defends our climate progress against relentless attacks from Washington.”
*Lauren Sanchez, of Oakland, incoming Chair of the California Air Resources Board. Sanchez has been Senior Advisor for Climate in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom since 2021. She was Senior Advisor for the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate in the Biden-Harris Administration in 2021. Sanchez was Deputy Secretary for Climate Policy and Intergovernmental Relations at the California Environmental Protection Agency from 2019 to 2021. She was International Policy Director at the California Air Resources Board from 2018 to 2019. Sanchez was a Climate Negotiator at the United States Department of State from 2015 to 2017. Sanchez earned a Master of Science degree in Environmental Management from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies and Biology from Middlebury College. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $214,956. Sanchez is a Democrat.
**AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
CARB Chair Liane Randolph to Retire
Late yesterday, California governor Gavin Newsom announced that California Air Resources Board (CARB) Chair Liane Randolph will be retiring from state service effective 30 September 2025. Newsome named Senior Advisor to the Governor for Climate Lauren Sanchez* to serve as the next CARB Chair. Chair Sanchez starts 1 October 2025 and assumes Chair Randolph’s current term which ends in December 2026. The appointment is subject to state Senate confirmation. It is inarguably the most powerful position in the Clean Air movement now that the US EPA has abandoned its role on protecting the environment and dealing with planet threatening Global Warming. (read AutoInformed.com on: Environmental Pillage Agency attacks California)**
“Serving the public has been the honor of a lifetime and I am incredibly proud of everything the agency has accomplished over the last five years. I thank Governor Newsom for the opportunity, my fellow board members for their partnership, and CARB staff for their unwavering dedication to the mission of clean air and a better future for all Californians,” said Chair Randolph.
“As I leave state service, I do so with gratitude and hope — knowing the next generation is ready to lead with courage, compassion and conviction. Lauren brings intellect, tenacity and a deep commitment to California. I pass the baton with full confidence in her ability to carry this work forward with heart and vision,” Randolf said.
During her time as Chair, CARB expanded its focus on improving conditions in communities that suffer from the highest levels of air pollution in the state. The Board also adopted landmark climate and environmental policies, including the 2022 Scoping Plan laying out California’s path to carbon neutrality by 2045, and implementing Governor Newsom’s 2020 executive order on zero-emission vehicles, accelerating the transition to a cleaner transportation system.
Other agency accomplishments during Chair Randolph’s term include:
“Lauren has been my most trusted climate advisor and the chief architect of California’s bold climate agenda — helping deliver billions in new investments and cementing our state’s role as the global leader in the fight for a clean, healthy, job-creating future,” said Governor Newsom. “She is a force in her own right: her expertise, tenacity, and vision will serve California well as the Board works to protect our communities and defends our climate progress against relentless attacks from Washington.”
*Lauren Sanchez, of Oakland, incoming Chair of the California Air Resources Board. Sanchez has been Senior Advisor for Climate in the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom since 2021. She was Senior Advisor for the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate in the Biden-Harris Administration in 2021. Sanchez was Deputy Secretary for Climate Policy and Intergovernmental Relations at the California Environmental Protection Agency from 2019 to 2021. She was International Policy Director at the California Air Resources Board from 2018 to 2019. Sanchez was a Climate Negotiator at the United States Department of State from 2015 to 2017. Sanchez earned a Master of Science degree in Environmental Management from Yale University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies and Biology from Middlebury College. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $214,956. Sanchez is a Democrat.
**AutoInformed on
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn. He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe. Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap. AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks. Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.