Oil and gas well regulation bill dies in last sessions of California Senate

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (CN) — A California bill that would allow local governments to restrict or prohibit oil or gas operations hit a wall before finally dying Thursday in the state Senate.

However, the bill will get one more chance to pass during Friday’s session.

Assembly Bill 3233, written by Morro Bay Democratic Assemblymember Dawn Addis, responded to a 2023 California Supreme Court ruling in a Monterey County case where the court found that a local measure clashed with state power over regulating oil and gas drilling.

State Senator John Laird, the Santa Cruz Democrat carrying the bill for Addis, said that ruling disenfranchises local governments that want some control over oil and gas production in their jurisdictions.

“This is a legal precedent that we cannot afford,” Laird said.

Laird said the bill imposed no mandate, and that local governments that wanted to maintain or increase their production had the option.

Votes on the bill stalled Thursday afternoon, with only 18 signaling support. Senators set it aside, returning to it later that day once all were present.

The bill then garnered 20 votes, one less than needed for passage. Laird again asked for another chance, though when senators returned to it that evening it garnered no more votes from the abstaining senators and died.

Senators did agree to reconsider the bill, giving it a final chance to pass on Friday.

State Senator Kelly Seyarto, a Murrieta Republican, said the bill made no sense and could lead to an economic disaster for the state. He used Los Angeles County as an example, saying that one county’s decision about oil and gas production would impact the whole state.

Seyarto added that the bill made it appear that California already has moved past oil dependence.

“We’re getting rid of the oil before our dependence is gone,” he said.

State Senator Bill Dodd, a Napa Democrat, agreed with the Murietta Republican, saying that though people know oil isn’t the future, it’s still being used. When gas stations close, prices climb, he said.

“We are messing with supply and demand by letting local governments get involved in this supply chain,” Dodd added. “This is basic economics.”

State Senator Shannon Grove, a Bakersfield Republican, said the state spends more money and causes more environmental harm by importing fossil fuels.

“We’re bringing in ships from other countries when we could pump it in Kern County,” she said.

The bill is also opposed by the Western States Petroleum Association, which said in a bill analysis that it could hamper the production of existing oil and gas wells. An ordinance that prohibited well production could be an unconstitutional taking of property rights, it also argued.

Laird said the issue that led to the state Supreme Court decision, which in turn spurred Addis’ bill, wasn’t about oil production but instead about its byproduct. People in Monterey County were concerned about a well contaminating nearby water.

“It lets the county decide,” Laird said.

In its final days this year, the Legislature is holding marathon sessions. Both chambers are considering hundreds of bills before its anticipated adjournment on Saturday.

On Thursday, the state Senate passed Assembly Bill 2839, written by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, a Santa Cruz Democrat. It would prohibit someone from knowingly distributing election-related messages that are materially deceptive.

The bill now returns to the Assembly for a final vote before advancing to the governor’s desk.

In the Assembly, lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 3089, which would require the state to issue a formal apology for chattel slavery. A plaque memorializing the apology would be installed in the state Capitol.

“This has been a labor of love,” said the bill’s author, Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a South Los Angeles Democrat, as he invoked his ancestors and the Little Rock Nine, a group of nine African American students who were the first to enter Central High School in Arkansas.

Their actions in the 1950s enabled Jones-Sawyer to stand in the Assembly on Thursday, he said.

The bill now proceeds to the governor.

The Assembly also sent Assembly Bill 2316, written by Encino Democratic Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, to the governor’s desk. Gabriel’s bill, called the California School Food Safety Act, would prohibit six synthetic food dyes linked to behavioral and developmental issues in children.

“As a lawmaker, a parent, and someone who struggled with ADHD, I find it unacceptable that we allow schools to serve foods with additives that are linked to hyperactivity and neurobehavioral harms,” Gabriel said in a statement. “This bill will empower schools to better protect the health and wellbeing of our kids and encourage manufacturers to stop using these harmful additives.”

That chamber is also sending Assembly Bill 1963 to the governor. The bill, written by Assemblymember Laura Friedman, requires the state Department of Pesticide Regulation to reevaluate the toxic chemical paraquat dichloride. The department must make a decision by January 2029 to keep, cancel or suspend its registration, or put new restrictions on the use of pesticides that have paraquat dichloride.

Advocating for its passage, Friedman said the bill had been “neutered” in the state Senate.