Berman, Marc rep

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berman.asmdc.org

https://berman.asmdc.org › press-releases › 20250912-berman-bill-lower-energy-bills-and-protect-ratepayers-passes-legislature

Berman Bill to Lower Energy Bills and Protect Ratepayers Passes ...

Sep 12, 2025AB 1167 would work in tandem with Senate Bill 24 by Senator McNerney (D-Pleasanton), which would explicitly ban the use of ratepayer funds on lobbying or other political activities against efforts by cities and counties to create their own municipal utilities. # # # Contact: BermanPress@asm.ca.gov

Energy and Policy Institute

https://energyandpolicy.org › california-limits-utilities-use-of-customer-money-for-political-spending

California passes bill curbing utilities use of ratepayer money for ...

Sep 16, 2025State lawmakers last week made California the seventh state to pass a bill limiting investor-owned utilities from using customer money to pay for political and lobbying costs. Assembly Bill 1167, the California Ratepayer Protection Act, authored by Assembly Member Marc Berman (D-Menlo Park), passed ...

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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kGZGMRIhX0I9FYUdhPcQmWAFoML26hFCtDTyioHH50s/edit

Marc Berman is a council member for the City of Palo Alto. A lawyer by training, Marc is the former Development Director at the Silicon Valley Education Foundation, a non-profit focused on STEM education and closing the achievement gap in public schools in Silicon Valley.

Marc has been a leader on the City Council on issues such as infrastructure improvements and financial transparency. A member of Palo Alto’s Infrastructure Committee, Marc served on the campaign committee for Measure B, a ballot measure that passed with over 76% of the vote in 2014 to help fund public safety, street, sidewalk, and park improvements. This was the culmination of five years of work that Marc spent on infrastructure improvements, beginning with his appointment to Palo Alto’s Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Commission (IBRC) in 2010.

As chair of the Finance Committee, Marc worked with the Office of Management and Budget to create the Budget in Brief. Rather than expect residents to sort through 800+ pages of budget documents, the Budget in Brief provides the public with an easy to understand 7-page overview of Palo Alto’s $470 million budget, increasing transparency and public awareness of how their money is spent.

Driven by his passion for service and for the area where he grew up, Marc has become a leader in numerous regional civic organizations, including serving as president of the Peninsula Democratic Coalition. Marc is also a founding member of the Advisory Board of New Leaders Council – Silicon Valley, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that trains civic-minded young professionals in how to create positive change in our community. In 2010, wanting to give back to the schools he attended, Marc volunteered on the Measure A campaign committee to raise funds to provide additional resources and opportunities to students in Palo Alto's public schools.

Marc began his public service in Palo Alto, working in Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s District Office after his freshman year in college. Marc got his first taste of campaigning the following summer when, as an intern for Congressman Mike Honda’s campaign, he often spoke to students at local high schools about the benefits of community involvement and encouraged the students to get involved themselves.

Marc graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Political Science. While in college, Marc served as a summer analyst in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. Marc went on to graduate from law school at the University of Southern California, where he was elected president of the Student Bar Association and served for two years on the Southern California Law Review.

Prior to his work in the non-profit sector, Marc was an attorney with Latham & Watkins LLP and Merino Yebri, LLP. Marc has successfully represented pro bono clients seeking protection under the Violence Against Women Act, asylum in the United States due to political persecution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and has served as pro bono counsel to Spark, a national youth development non-profit.

Contact Marc at marc@voteberman.com

BACKGROUND NOTES ON MARC BERMAN -- by Sean Chu

Most relevant facts in bold

Committee memberships

Elections and Redistricting (Chair)

Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy

Legislative Ethics

Privacy and Consumer Protection

Transportation

Select Committee on the Master Plan for Higher Education in California (Chair)

Select Committee on Coastal Protection and Access to Natural Resources

Select Committee on Cybersecurity

Select Committee on Housing Affordability for Middle- and Working Class

Select Committee on Improving Bay Area Transportation Systems

Select Committee on Nonprofit Sector

:{Select Committee on Rail:{}:

Select Committee on Youth and California’s Future}:

Relevant voting/bill-authorship history (Source: http://clerk.assembly.ca.gov/sites/clerk.assembly.ca.gov/files/awh042017.pdf}:

Yes on SB 1 (transportation infrastructure bill)

Sponsored AB 184, bill to continue Sea Level Rise Database

California Natural Resources Agency oversees the database, which provides information on planning for sea level rise, studies, modeling mapping, cost-benefit analysis and vulnerability assessments. Requires reporting by various public agencies and private entities. Without further legislation, the database would have been repealed January 2018.

Coauthored AB 73, land use bill

Bill would allow cities or counties to create a “Housing Sustainability District” by completing upfront zoning and environmental review in order to receive incentive payments for residential and mixed-use development projects with an affordable housing component. According to authors of bill: “AB 73 spurs the creation of much needed housing on infill sites around public transportation by incentivizing local governments to complete upfront zoning and environmental review and rewarding them when they permit housing.” Sierra Club opposes -- unclear why.

:{Authored AB 1131, autonomous vehicles:{}:

Requires DMV to adopt regulations concerning the testing of autonomous vehicles used to transport freight, in consultation with CalTrans and CHP. Requires vehicles to have a human driver.}:

Coauthored AB 1294, solid waste

Extends the sunset, from January 1, 2018 to January 1, 2028, for a provision of law that requires manufacturers of plastic food containers that make environmental marketing claims relating to the recycled content to maintain specified records relating to the claim.

Authored AB 1404, environmental quality

Expands the application of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) categorical exemption for infill development projects within cities to include unincorporated areas as well. “Under CEQA, there is a categorical infill exemption provided to only cities. As counties have urbanized, it makes sense to utilize the exemption to promote infill development in counties as well.”

AB 1531, public agency renewable self-generation program

In 2008, the Legislature approved the Renewable Energy Self-Generation Bill Credit Transfer (RES-BCT) program, which allowed a local governmental entity to operate a small renewable electricity generating facility in one location and have the utility credit the output of that facility against electricity the local government consumes at another location.

AB 1531 removes certain restrictions that limited participation in this program.

Issues he’s focused on in public statements / quotes

Housing affordability

Public higher education affordability

Traffic congestion and public transit availability

Reproductive health

:{Sexual assault victims:{}:

Climate action: “Despite action, or lack thereof, in Washington, D.C., California needs to remain at the forefront of responding to the impacts of climate change as there is still more work to be done”}:

Past positions:

Former Palo Alto City Council member

Committees: Infrastructure and Finance
:{Backed Measure B (public safety, street, sidewalk, and park improvements):{}:

and measures to make budget documents more transparent to residents.}:

Involvement with STEM education nonprofit (Silicon Valley Education Foundation)

Practicing lawyer

:{:{}:

Marc Berman

Capitol Office, Room 6011

P.O. Box 942849, Sacramento, CA 94249-0024; (916) 319-2024

District Office

5050 El Camino Real, Suite 117, Los Altos, CA 94022; (650) 691-2121

Driven by his passion for service and for the area where he grew up, Marc has become a leader in numerous regional civic organizations, including serving as president of the Peninsula Democratic Coalition. Marc is also a founding member of the Advisory Board of New Leaders Council – Silicon Valley, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that trains civic-minded young professionals in how to create positive change in our community. In 2010, wanting to give back to the schools he attended, Marc volunteered on the Measure A campaign committee to raise funds to provide additional resources and opportunities to students in Palo Alto's public schools.

Marc began his public service in Palo Alto, working in Congresswoman Anna Eshoo’s District Office after his freshman year in college. Marc got his first taste of campaigning the following summer when, as an intern for Congressman Mike Honda’s campaign, he often spoke to students at local high schools about the benefits of community involvement and encouraged the students to get involved themselves.

Prior to his work in the non-profit sector, Marc was an attorney with Latham & Watkins LLP and Merino Yebri, LLP. Marc has successfully represented pro bono clients seeking protection under theViolence Against Women Act, asylum in the United States due to political persecution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,and has served as pro bono counsel to Spark, a national youth development non-profit.

Contact Marc at marc@voteberman.com