In 2006, when California adopted Assembly Bill 32 — the state’s landmark climate change law forcing a long-term shift to cleaner forms of energy — the measure initially faced concerns that it would increase the energy bills of poor households. Lawmakers responded to this concern by including language in the bill that said emission fees paid by polluters in the state cap-and-trade market set up by the measure would be used not just for projects that helped the environment but to limit the measure’s effects — including higher gas prices — on the poor.