Charles Hugh Warren (April 26, 1927 – November 7, 2019)[1] was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served in the California State Assembly from 1963 to 1977 and held a Cabinet-level position as chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) under U.S. President Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1979.

Too young to join the United States military, which was absorbing the majority of male high school graduates in that World War II year, he took a job in North Kansas City with Standard Steel Works, a steel fabricating company that was manufacturing equipment for the military.

[2] While he was working at the steel company, Warren began attending night school at a junior college in Kansas City, then enlisted in the military in the Army Specialized Training Program.

After doing well academically there, he was accepted into a military training program in Japanese language and area studies that was being conducted at Yale University.

That experience led to his becoming author of several bills aimed at ensuring pay equity between men and women performing the same jobs.

Warren's efforts led to Governor Ronald Reagan being persuaded to impose a 0.5% surcharge on telephone bills to fund the program, in spite of having promised not to raise taxes.

[2]: 36, 36a–36e In 1973, Warren was chairman of a State Assembly subcommittee charged with addressing issues of future energy demand in California.

"[2]: 46  Following the law's passage, the National Conference of State Legislators established a committee on energy policy and Warren became its first chairman.

[2]: 40 [6] Reminiscing during oral history interviews in the 1980s, Warren commented on his unexpected status as a successful environmental leader: Among a small circle, I became a minor celebrity and received credit which I did not deserve for things which I did not fully understand.

[2]: 6–18 [3] He was the third chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), appointed to the position by President Jimmy Carter, and serving from January 1977 to September 1979.

[5][7] He brought attorney Nicholas Yost from California to Washington, DC, to serve as chief counsel at CEQ.

[5] In 1985, State Assembly Speaker Willie Brown appointed Warren to a two-year term on the California Coastal Commission.

[7][12] In January 1986 he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Commission's chairmanship, losing to fellow Democrat Michael Wornum by a vote of 8–4.

It's kind of tempting to think that nobody gives a damn and so you do whatever you want.In 1989, Warren was appointed executive officer of the California State Lands Commission.

[13][14][15] In 1993, while working as executive director of the Lands Commission, Warren encouraged Mobil to pursue a proposal to use land-based horizontal drilling to access offshore oil near Santa Barbara.