California lawmakers push Newsom’s environmental goals forward as deadline approaches
Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, knew the odds were tough and the deadline was short.
But when Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month called on legislators to pass several environmental proposals, she decided to co-author one that would toughen rules related to oil and gas wells.
As soon as the governor put out his plan, “I said I wanted to do it,” Gonzalez said. “If we don’t keep pushing we’re not going to get anything done.”
Gonzalez’s bill is one of several facing an Aug. 31 deadline to meet Newsom’s environmental goals. When the governor publicly announced his support for specific plans on Aug. 12, he called on the Legislature to act, saying in a statement: “the progress we make on the climate crisis this year will be felt for generations.” It came as he has faced criticism from some environmentalists.
Lawmakers responded and pushed forward bills that hit the governor’s targets. Some were being amended as recently as the weekend.
Gonzalez’s measure would create a buffer zone of 3,200 feet between new oil and gas wells and homes, schools, hospitals and other “sensitive” sites. It would also require existing wells to meet certain health, safety and environmental standards.
Other proposed legislation would bind the state to a goal of being carbon neutral by no later than 2045, set a more stringent gas emissions reduction goal for 2030 and establish regulations for projects that would capture and remove carbon dioxide from the air.
Alex Stack, a spokesperson for the Governor’s Office, declined to make any staff available for an interview to discuss the bills and their chances going forward. But when Newsom announced the proposals earlier in the month, he also said in his statement: “Each of these actions on their own are monumental steps to tackling the climate crisis – but California isn’t waiting a minute longer to get them done.”
James Gallagher, the Assembly minority leader, called the package of bills disastrous and warned of rising costs for the state’s residents. He suspected the timing of Newsom’s push was “politically motivated.”
“If this was really important to him he would have brought this package up at the beginning of the year,” the Nicolaus Republican said.
Gonzalez’s bill in particular faced opposition Monday.
More than a hundred people, many of them oil and gas workers and industry representatives, stood outside a crowded hearing room while the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources discussed the bill.
Several workers held signs urging a no vote on the bill. “Save my community!!!” said a one held by Malou Guerrero-Lee, an engineer.
Guerrero-Lee, a 30-year veteran of the petroleum industry, left the Bakersfield area around 5:30 a.m. Monday on a bus with other oil and gas workers.
“Why is there such scrutiny when we are already environmentally conscientious?” Guerrero-Lee said of Gonzalez’s bill. She also worried about the effects it would have on jobs and communities.
“It will shut down a lot of oil and gas wells,” she said.
Gonzalez acknowledged that the bill would lead to job losses in the oil and gas industry over time. But she said legislators were working to make sure new jobs were created in renewable energy, manufacturing and other industries as the state tried to meet its environmental goals.
“I’m the daughter of a union truck driver,” she said. “I want to find ways that we can support these workers but in a different way.”
Another Newsom-backed proposal calls for renewable and zero carbon sources to make up 90% of the state’s electricity by 2035 and 95% by 2040. The state’s long-term goal of 100% by 2045 remains in place.
Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, who introduced the bill, said Friday it gave Newsom what he wanted and he felt good about its chances.
But he added: “We want to move this bill and we don’t want it to be jeopardized by the fights over other bills.”
Whether or not Gonzalez’s measure survives that fight is unclear.
A majority of lawmakers on the committee voted in favor of pushing the bill forward Monday and the Senator said she was hopeful about its chances. But with only two full days left, and strong opposition, she recognized its passage is not guaranteed.
This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
