831-649-2832
SACRAMENTO– Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay), submitted the following letter ahead of San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors meeting, regarding the County’s request to join the Diablo Canyon 2045 Coalition:
June 15, 2026
Board of Supervisors (C/O Matthew Pontes, CEO)
San Luis Obispo, County of
1055 Monterey Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 93408
RE: Executive Office Item 14–Request for the County to Join the Diablo Canyon 2045 Coalition (06-16-26 Agenda)
Dear Chair Paulding and Members of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors:
As the Assemblymember representing California’s 30th Assembly District, the only State Legislator living within one of the twelve evacuation/shelter-in-place zones surrounding Diablo Canyon Power Plant (DCPP), and a former Morro Bay City Councilmember, I bring both personal and public service experience to this nuclear plant’s continued operation. As a local resident and State Representative, I understand how decisions about DCPP intersect with the safety, welfare, and livelihoods of Central Coast communities and Californians statewide.
I recognize the need to balance long-term state policy goals with the realities faced by our communities who bear the burden of living next to a nuclear power plant. Decisions about DCPP operations are too important to rush, and our community’s voice must be front and center in any statewide decisions. We must ensure public safety and emergency preparedness, environmental protections, full conservation and public access to Diablo Canyon Lands, and continued tax revenues that provide fiscal stability for local governments, schools and special districts.
In 2022, SB 846 (Dodd, Chapter 239, Statutes of 2022) extended operation of DCPP. The bill provided PG&E with a $1.4 billion state loan without a clear repayment plan, granted a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) categorical exemption, extended the plant’s retirement date to 2030, and maintained the California Coastal Commission's authority for environmental mitigation. The rushed negotiations of SB 846, in the last moments of the legislative session, concerned many who feared San Luis Obispo County communities would lose out on the full and fair mitigation they needed. As a result, County entities, local school children, and the underserved have been left without critical resources, while taxpayers remain responsible for more than $1 billion dollars in Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) incurred costs. Any future legislation on the extension of Diablo Canyon must hold PG&E accountable on past and future promises made to San Luis Obispo, which have yet to be fulfilled or honored.
At the same time, important safety questions remain unresolved. Key seismic and other safety information has yet to be publicly released, including the results of Unit 1 embrittlement and outstanding seismic concerns that require review by the Diablo Canyon Independent Peer Review Panel and the Diablo Canyon Independent Safety Committee.
Among my colleagues in the State Assembly and Senate, there is a consensus that we cannot repeat the mistakes of the past - mistakes that left local communities out of the process and created fiscal challenges we are now actively still working to fix. Local residents share that concern and expect a fair outcome that reflects the significant role our region plays in hosting this facility.
For that reason, I have serious concerns about the Diablo 2045 Coalition’s stated goal of drafting, passing, and signing legislation in the last weeks of this year’s legislative session. Decisions of this magnitude require transparency, public engagement, and careful review.
I have consistently raised these questions in public forums and before regulatory agencies. This includes testimony and letters to the Coastal Commission; comments to the Central Coast Water Board; meetings with the Board of Equalization, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the California Energy Commission (CEC), as well as discussions locally at the San Luis Obispo Chamber’s State of the State. I have also engaged directly with PG&E’s CEO, her staff and PG&E representatives.
Throughout my time in the Legislature, I have worked to secure meaningful community benefits. These efforts include securing $10 million for economic development, $40 million to advance the conservation of Wild Cherry Canyon, introducing AB 1391 to preserve Transitional Kindergarten; and proposing a budget allocation for our local school. I am now co-sponsoring SB 931, which would restore approximately $8.3 million annually to local entities - for the five years DCPP’s operations were extended under SB 846. I am honored that Speaker Robert Rivas has asked me to serve on the Assembly’s Diablo Canyon working group. In that role, I remain committed to ensuring that any future decisions regarding DCPP are informed by transparency, public engagement, sound science, and a fair outcome for the communities most directly affected.
As public servants at both at the local and state levels, we have a duty to advocate for a transparent and fair process. This conversation should take place through the full legislative process, with meaningful opportunities for public engagement and input. Maintaining an independent position strengthens the County's ability to advocate for local priorities, negotiate from a position of strength, and avoid being constrained by the objective of any outside coalition.
It is important to note that the interests of the Diablo 2045 Coalition, largely funded by non-government and private entities, may not fully align with those of San Luis Obispo County or the residents who work, live, and attend schools within DCPP’s evacuation zones.
Throughout my work in the Legislature, one fact has remained clear: our community sits at the center of decisions with significant consequences for public safety, environmental stewardship, fiscal stability, and our local quality of life. These decisions deserve a thoughtful, transparent process that puts the needs of our community first.
Given many unanswered questions, I urge the County to preserve its autonomy and staff resources by postponing any decision to join the Diablo Canyon 2045 Coalition.
At a time when public trust is increasingly strained, our responsibility is to ensure that every decision is grounded in transparency, accountability, and commitments that are not only made, but honored. Our communities deserve nothing less.
Sincerely,
Dawn Addis
Assemblymember, District 30”
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Dawn Addis was elected to the California State Assembly in 2022 to represent the coastal 30th Assembly District, which includes San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and Santa Cruz Counties. She is the Chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee 1 on Health.
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