In the latest setback for the oil industry in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday signed a new law that allows cities, counties, and local voters to block construction of new oil and gas wells in their communities.
The bill, AB 3233, by Assemblywoman Dawn Addis, D-Monterey, which the industry staunchly opposed, overturns a state Supreme Court ruling from last fall. In that case, the justices ruled in favor of Chevron and nullified a ballot measure that Monterey County voters passed in 2016 to ban new oil and gas wells there over pollution concerns, saying that state regulations took precedent.
Environmental groups pushed hard for the new law, which could affect a broad range of communities that have passed local oil drilling restrictions over the past decade, from Antioch and Brentwood in Contra Costa County to Santa Cruz County to the city of Los Angeles.
Newsom, who called a special session of the Legislature this month to address gas prices, was sharply critical of oil companies, an industry that he has increasingly clashed with in recent years over pollution and climate change.
“They are the polluted heart of this climate crisis,” Newsom said. “They have been lying and deceiving us for decades and decades. It is finally time to hold big oil accountable.”
Earlier this month, a Los Angeles County judge, citing the state Supreme Court ruling, struck down an ordinance passed unanimously in 2022 by the Los Angeles City Council that barred new oil and gas extraction and required that all existing operations in the city limits to stop production within 20 years.
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Newsom also signed two other bills Wednesday tightening rules on the oil industry.
They are AB 1866, by Assemblyman Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara), which increases oil industry requirements to plug and clean up idle oil and gas wells, and AB 2716, by Assemblyman Isaac Bryan (D-Los Angeles), which prohibits the operation of oil and gas wells located in an oil field within the Baldwin Hills Conservancy in Inglewood.
“We will hold the oil industry accountable for their pollution and their public health impacts,” Hart said Wednesday.
Opponents, led by the Western States Petroleum Association, an influential industry trade group whose members include Chevron, ExxonMobil, Shell and Valero, say the bills went too far.
In a statement last month, the association said the bill would “impose impractical limits on oil and gas operations, creating a fragmented system.” It also noted that California imports roughly 75% of the oil it consumes.
“This reliance on imported oil not only drives up fuel prices for consumers but also compromises our environmental goals by bypassing California’s strict standards,” the association said.
“These bills could severely disrupt California’s ability to provide affordable and reliable fuels to its residents, impacting everyone from everyday consumers to entire industries.”
Environmental groups praised the news.
“This law affirms that cities and counties can address residents’ concerns about oil and gas pollution,” said Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity in Oakland. “The oil industry used threats and intimidation to try to kill vital local protections from industry pollution. We finally have the assurances under state law that local governments can, and always could, restrict oil and gas to protect communities and the climate.”
(This is a developing story and will be updated.)