The state can’t save $225 billion if it forces workers to commute

By Wasim Ali, especially for CalMatters

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What if you learned about a state initiative that takes cars off California’s congested roads, cuts fuel consumption, and cuts carbon dioxide emissions—all backed by years of data and requiring no new technology or infrastructure? What if it saved taxpayers a quarter of a billion dollars a year?

As an air resources engineer at the California Air Resources Board, I can confirm that there is already a policy in place to achieve these goals: telecommuting of state employees. For six years, I watched it deliver exactly what my colleagues and I work for every day – reduced emissions and cleaner air.

You would assume that Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is advertising California’s climate leadership on the world stagewould defend and extend such a policy. Instead, his administration plans to require state employees double their days at the office from two to four days a week, starting July 1.

That’s why Professional Engineers in California Government urges the Legislature for support Assembly Bill 1729 to strengthen our state’s environmental stewardship and leadership by strengthening its commitment to flexible telecommuting for public employees.

The measure introduced by Assemblyman Alex Leewill codify telecommuting as a core component of government employment. It requires departments to develop and maintain robust telecommuting programs and implement them in situations “identified as practical and beneficial to the organization.” The bill also mandates regular public reporting on emissions reductions, fuel savings and other benefits the program achieves.

at the moment state policy provides remote work “to the greatest extent possible,” but it has all the force of a polite suggestion. AB 1729 would prevent administrations from arbitrarily rolling back a proven climate solution and establish telecommuting as a permanent tool in California’s environmental toolkit.

When in 2020, COVID-19 caused a huge expansion of telecommuting in the state, the impact on the environment was extraordinary.

State data from 2022 and 2023 show that telecommuting has eliminated 1.08 billion commutes – the equivalent of 2,258 round trips to the moon. The policy has saved government employees a cumulative 27.2 million hours of travel time, or more than 3,100 years of driving.

Environmental results: 44.2 million gallons of gasoline were not burned and nearly 393,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide were kept out of the atmosphere.

These are measurable climate gains that dovetail perfectly with California’s drive to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce congestion on public roadways. Bringing tens of thousands of state workers back to the office four days a week only adds vehicles to California’s already congested roads, increasing gas consumption, pollution and frustration with commuters.

A large body of research shows that telecommuting is also good business. Performance studies, departmental auditsand internal reviews consistently show that remote and hybrid teams have maintained or even improved performance.

Good government operations should not be at the expense of the planet.

There are also significant fiscal benefits. The state auditor found last year that telecommuting arrangements could save California roughly $225 million a year through real estate consolidation and reduced overhead costs.

To date, the Newsom administration has not offered any supporting data your plan to limit remote work.

If California wants to lead on climate, it must match its commitments with its workplace policies. When telecommuting delivers documented environmental benefits at scale—fewer cars, less fuel, cleaner air—while saving taxpayers money, the way forward is clear: Continue and, where possible, expand this program.

California has a choice: climate-smart, data-driven fiscal responsibility, or a return to antiquated office routines that undermine the state’s own environmental and budget goals.

In California, our commitment to the environment should not stop at the door of state office.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and is republished under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivatives license.