October 4, 2010 - Governor Vetoes Legislation to Prevent Oil Spill Damage
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 4, 2010
http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a06/newsroom/20101004AD...
CONTACT: Paige Brokaw (916) 319-2006 Paige.brokaw@asm.ca.gov
Governor Vetoes Legislation to Prevent Oil Spill Damage Schwarzenegger leaves California vulnerable to catastrophic oil spills
Sacramento, CA – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed a major oil spill prevention bill, Assembly Bill 234 by Assemblymember Jared Huffman (D–Marin), despite widespread acknowledgement that California’s oil spill prevention fund is on the verge of insolvency and that California lags behind several other states in policies that can prevent and limit damage from oil spills. AB 234 would have helped address California’s vulnerability to a catastrophic oil spill by doing three important things: 1. Preventing the oil spill prevention fund from running out of money within the next year by raising existing fees on imported oil (without this funding, the Schwarzenegger administration itself projects a deficit of $3 million in 2011-12 and $11 million in 2012); 2. Implementing the proven policy of pre-booming for marine oil transfer operations; and 3. Ensuring that offshore drilling rigs in California waters have plans and safeguards in place to prevent a Gulf Coast-like disaster, where the failure of a blowout preventer resulted in a massive leak that could not be shut off. With the horrific Gulf oil spill fresh in everyone’s mind, the need to protect California’s environment and economy from a devastating oil spill has never been more clear. Yet the Governor offered only a cryptic veto message saying, “the bill is unnecessary” and complaining that the fee increase would generate more money than California needs to promulgate regulations on pre-booming policy. The Governor simply ignored the fact that his own administration projects the oil spill prevention fund will soon go insolvent without AB 234. Current law gives the Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR) discretion to raise the per-barrel oil fee, and they are currently administering the fee at the statutory 5-cent cap. AB 234 would have raised the cap on the fee by one penny from 5-cents to 6-cents, but didn’t mandate that the fee actually be raised. OSPR would have discretion to raise the fee incrementally by fractions of a cent, as appropriate, to generate the right amount of funding to keep California’s oil spill prevention program afloat, but no more than is necessary. Therefore, the Governor’s claim that the bill would have generated millions in “excess” revenue is false. The Governor has chosen to send California’s critical oil spill prevention efforts careening into insolvency, instead of supporting a very small fee increase on imported oil to finance oil spill prevention and preparedness. Without this critical funding, the looming fund deficit will stymie oil spill prevention and response work by OSPR, as well as the California Coastal Commission, State Lands Commission, and Bay Conservation and Development Commission. “This shameful action solidifies Arnold Schwarzenegger’s legacy as an action hero for the oil industry,
10/7/2010 2:27 PM
October 4, 2010 - Governor Vetoes Legislation to Prevent Oil Spill Damage
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http://democrats.assembly.ca.gov/members/a06/newsroom/20101004AD...
and a one-man wrecking crew for California’s environment,” said Assemblymember Huffman. “History will reflect that in one of his final acts as Governor, he chose to leave California vulnerable to devastating environmental and economic damage from an oil spill, and to hide behind a disingenuous and factually inaccurate veto message. For those who care about the environment, he cannot leave office soon enough.” Huffman plans to reintroduce similar legislation next year when California has a new Governor. ### Capitol: State Capitol - P.O. Box 942849 -Sacramento, CA 94249-0006 - Tel: (916) 319-2006 - Fax: (916) 319-2106 District: 3501 Civic Center Drive, Room 412 - San Rafael, CA 94903 - Tel: (415) 479-4720 - Fax: (415) 479-2123
10/7/2010 2:27 PM