Offshore windmills, new washing machines and a $4-billion climate-change bond are just some of the items on the environmental agenda as state legislators ready for a 2020 session in which global warming and plastic waste may loom larger than ever.

The Legislature doesn’t get back to work until Jan. 6, but momentum has been building for several key measures introduced but not finalized in 2019. These include a $4-billion bond that Democrats hope to pass by June so it can qualify for the November ballot.

The bond bill, SB 45 by Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, includes $1 billion for prevention of wildfires believed to be increasingly fueled by climate change, another $1 billion to protect water supplies from climate-associated risks, $630 million to protect coastal areas from rising seas, and $520 million to protect fish and other wildlife from the effects of climate change.

“We anticipate this is going to be one of our big priorities as a caucus this year,” state Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, told Politico in this month. “We’ve been talking about climate change and the impact, and now we are feeling it full force from multiple directions. It is impacting everything.”

Another high-profile bill that made its first appearance in 2019 would ensure that all single-use plastics are either recyclable or compostable by 2030 and require that the amount of single-use plastics going into state landfills be reduced by 75%. Currently, less than 15% of single-use plastics in the state are recycled, according to Allen, the sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, SB 54.

Both Allen’s bill and an identical version in the Assembly, AB 1080, easily passed in 2019 but got left behind in the year-end rush of legislation, failing to come to a second vote in either house.

“We spoke to the governor and he wants to see those bills on his desk in January,” said Dan Jacobson, a veteran Sacramento lobbyist for Environment California. “Awareness of plastics in the oceans has really grown.”

Besides plastic pollution, dirty stormwater runoff has contributed to coastal issues moving to the forefront of the state’s environmental focus. Another big factor is rising seas, which the state Legislative Analyst’s Office warned in December that the state must address quickly or face dire consequences.

The Southern California News Group surveyed three key environmental leaders on the state bills they were working on with legislators or otherwise supporting: Jacobson, California Coastkeeper Executive Director Sean Bothwell and California Coastal Protection Network founder Susan Jordan.

Their priorities included SB 45, SB 54 and AB 1080, and are heavy on other ocean-related measures.

Windmills. A bill to study the feasibility of offshore wind power is expected by Jacobson. Prime locations are 25 miles offshore, starting in the Santa Cruz area and continuing to the north. Among outstanding questions is how the electricity would reach the state’s grid.

Sea level rise and infrastructure. Legislation that would require California lawmakers to consider sea level rise as a factor before funding coastal infrastructure projects, such as sewage plants, is among possible legislation to be pursued by California Coastkeeper.

Microfibers and washing machines. A bill to require new washing machines to contain microfiber filters as early as 2022 is likely to be introduced, according to Bothwell. “Microfibers are ingested by aquatic life, causing starvation or reproductive harm and are carried through the food chain and into seafood consumed by humans,” he said. The synthetic fibers are often too small to be captured by lint screens.

Cash for clunkers. Legislation to expand the state’s program for getting the dirtiest cars off the road is among the bills that Jacobson expects to see.

Mass transit. “We are anticipating legislation for discounted or free rides for students and seniors,” Jacobson said. He said the move can help young people establish a habit of using mass transit and noted that a Sacramento program providing free public transit for students increased ridership 40%.

Stormwater treatment. California Coastkeeper is considering pushing a bill that would remove restrictions that prevent many wastewater facilities from treating stormwater before it goes to the ocean.