In 2024, Californians will vote on whether the state should continue to produce oil under the world’s strongest environmental, health and labor laws or whether California should increase its reliance on imported oil, which could come from other oil-rich countries. oil
The “Stop the Energy Shutdown” referendum gathered nearly 1 million signatures in record time because many Californians don’t want to send their hard-earned money to foreign dictators who don’t share our values.
We got to this point because Senate Bill 1137 was gutted and amended five days before the end of the 2022 legislative session. The new language instituted a ban on new or reworked oil wells within 3,200 feet of “sensitive receptors” or structures. In most cases, the oil wells were in operation long before the structures were built.
Lawmakers had already rejected a similar bill earlier in the session, and a regulatory process was also underway on the issue.
The legislative process is there for a reason. Hold public hearings so that experts and affected groups can offer testimony, ask questions, and offer solutions in a public forum. For example, a comprehensive review of government studies on the issue of setbacks conducted by the City of Los Angeles concluded that there was “a lack of empirical evidence correlating oil and gas operations in the City of Los Angeles with negative impacts generalized about health”.
Engineers at the California Independent Petroleum Association found that SB 1137 would threaten 15,500 existing wells and prevent planned new production in the state. However, in the five days of legislative rush work, there was no real discussion about the impacts of gas prices, the loss of income for local communities, the financial impact for the 55,000 well-paid workers of the oil industry or additional oil tankers. it would be necessary to come from abroad to cover the current demand for oil.
Last minute bills to try and amend at the last minute is not the way to make a good policy. When politicians deal with laws like SB 1137, the people of California have a right to respond.
California already has regulations against oil wells, and more than 20 local, provincial, state, and federal agencies oversee all aspects of oil production in California.
Oil produced in California is also the only crude oil in the world that meets the state’s climate regulations. Our oil producers must follow the state’s greenhouse gas reduction programs and account for all emissions, but oil imports are completely exempt from these regulations. Foreign countries don’t pay local taxes that fund police, fire, roads, and schools, or support local projects like affordable housing and higher education scholarships.
How much will gas prices rise if 15,500 existing California wells are shut down and supply switches to imported oil?
Nearly half of all electric cars in the U.S. are sold in California, but demand for oil has steadily increased over the past decade. In 2012, California’s oil demand was 598 million barrels. In 2019, it was 659 million.
How will we meet the demand for oil in the foreseeable future?
Even if California grounded every airplane and banned every combustion engine, we would still rely on every drop of oil in the state to produce the more than 6,000 everyday oil-based products our residents depend on.
How can Californians drive their electric vehicles without the petroleum-based tires, car body, batteries or asphalt to drive on?
These critical issues should have been discussed when considering legislation of this magnitude.
Californians’ last barrel of oil should come from California, not from foreign dictators or countries that do not reflect our values. Voters will decide this issue in November 2024, which is the very definition of democracy.
