VX News is the editorial voice of the annual VerdeXchange Conference, featuring in-depth interviews with industry leaders and policymakers driving innovation in clean energy, water, transportation, and climate policy.

VX News here republishes a press release from H2C Safety Pipe, Inc. on Governor Newsom’s signing of SB 804, the Hydrogen Pipeline Safety Act. Co-authored by Senator Bob Archuleta and Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, the bill passed both chambers unanimously. It sets hydrogen-specific standards for leakage, material compatibility, and continuous monitoring, and places oversight of non-CPUC hydrogen pipelines under the State Fire Marshal. Read the release below.

Talia Yohai 8/4/26 Talia Yohai 8/4/26

VX2026 "Affordable Housing: Is the Model Broken?": Bob Hertzberg’s Ballot-Box Missing Middle Fix

In this excerpt from VX2026's plenary "Affordable Housing: Is the Model Broken?", Robert Hertzberg, the former California State Senate Majority Leader and Senior Advisor at Mission Possible Partnership, moves past the familiar catalog of what's broken toward what he's actually building: a November 2026 ballot measure aimed squarely at the "missing middle" – the working families priced out of both subsidized affordable housing and market-rate ownership (a Revenue Bond to be paid back by homebuyers’ mortgage payments). Read along as Hertzberg lays out the five categories of housing he sees and delivers a verdict on why California's existing housing dollars aren't reaching the people they're meant to. A recording of the entire plenary can be found here.

Dana Choi 10/30/25 Dana Choi 10/30/25

Keeping Our Children in California: Hertzberg on the Middle-Class Homeownership Act

Former California Senate Majority Leader and Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg is championing the proposed Middle-Class Homeownership and Family Home Construction Act, a 2026 ballot initiative aimed at expanding housing opportunities for middle-income Californians.