Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Offshore Drilling topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee backs resolution urging removal from federal offshore lease plan
Summary
The committee voted to adopt SJR 12, a bipartisan resolution urging the federal government to remove California from a proposed outer continental shelf oil-and-gas leasing plan and calling for stronger review and public engagement amid concerns over spills and impacts on the coastal economy.
The Assembly Natural Resources and Water Committee voted to adopt SJR 12, a bipartisan resolution opposing the federal government’s proposed 11th Outer Continental Shelf oil-and-gas leasing program and asking that California be removed from that plan.
Senator Laird, who presented the resolution, said the federal proposal would open up large swaths of federal waters — including potential sales off California — and stressed historical harms from major spills. Christina Scurringe of the Center for Biological Diversity and other witnesses cited large economic losses and environmental damage from prior spills and urged the committee to register California’s formal opposition to the federal program.
Multiple local governments and conservation organizations — including Carlsbad, Surfrider Foundation, Monterey Bay Aquarium and the League of California Cities — registered formal support during public comment. Supporters emphasized the state’s coastal economy and ecosystems, and said expanded federal leasing with reduced bonding and less public input would risk more catastrophic impacts.
After testimony from supporters and no registered opposition in the hearing room, the committee moved and recorded a roll-call vote that adopted the resolution.
The adoption is a formal statement of the committee’s position and does not itself change state law; it signals state opposition and can be used to press federal decision-makers and to frame public engagement around the federal plan.
