T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire Texas oil tycoon behind Proposition 10, has doubled down on the alternative energy bond, plunging another $4 million into the measure through his company Clean Energy Fuels Corp.
Pickens' company was already the largest financier of the ballot measure, having given $3.75 million to the campaign. The measure would provide $5 billion in rebates to help promote natural gas vehicles, the types of vehicles that could be Pickens' company's customers.
The rebates would be paid for through a general obligation bond, repaid by the state over 30 years.
The Los Angeles Times, in a news story, describes Proposition 10 as a measure "from which he would profit," referring to Pickens.
The opposition includes taxpayer groups, such as the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, and consumer groups, such as Consumer Federation of California.
The opponents have yet to report any donations.
Clean Energy Fuels has provided most of the funding to the campaign. Aubrey McClendon, the CEO of another energy company, Chesapeake Energy, has given $500,000. McClendon and Pickens are friends.
Photo: T. Boone Pickens, chairman of BP Capital Management, speaking at the Clinton Global Initiative on Sept. 25, 2008. Credit: Jason DeCrow, Associated Press.
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