• Assembly Bill X2-1, co-written by Assemblymembers Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) and Cecillia Aguiar-Curry (D-Davis), passed the Assembly floor with a 44-17 vote and will advance to the Senate, according to an Oct. 1 statement from Hart’s office. Designed to bring stability to California’s oil market, the bill requires refineries to maintain sufficient fuel reserves to prevent the supply shortages that drive up gas prices and burden consumers. California’s oil market is uniquely vulnerable, according to Hart’s office. The state’s air quality standards and isolated fuels market mean that prices can be impacted by supply disruptions. Nearly all in-state supply comes from a handful of refineries—three in Northern California and five in Southern California, with only one small refinery in Central California. A single refinery outage could drastically reduce refining capacity, by up to 45 percent in Northern California and 35 percent in Southern California. This volatility, combined with the higher costs compared to other states, has placed an undue burden on residents with fixed or limited incomes and strained the broader economy. “The Assembly took a stand for California consumers today. The facts are clear—when gas prices spike, it costs everyday Californians billions at the pump, while the oil industry profits,” Assemblymember Hart said in the statement. “AB X2-1 will hold oil refineries accountable and promote fuel market stability. Price-gouging at the pump should not be the norm. I look forward to advancing this bill in the Senate.”
• U.S. Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Santa Barbara) joined several of his colleagues in sending a letter to California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin and Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Director Tony Tavares urging the state to eliminate redundant, costly federal environmental reviews for major transportation projects, according to an Oct. 3 statement from Carbajal’s office. Federal law since 2015 has allowed Caltrans to apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation to substitute state-prepared environmental reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in lieu of completing a second, unnecessary federal environmental review at additional taxpayer expense. In January 2021, the U.S. Department of Transportation finalized the necessary regulations to implement this 2015 pilot authority so that states with high environmental standards like California could apply to substitute their state environmental reviews for federally funded transportation projects. “This common-sense reform would effectively cut California’s permitting backlog in half for major transportation infrastructure projects statewide, keeping road, public transit, and rail improvements on time and under budget,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter. “Californians deserve both world-class transportation infrastructure and their fair share of the generational federal investment under the Biden-Harris administration’s 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. That requires your agency and department to further streamline the environmental permitting for major projects by eliminating redundant federal [National Environmental Policy Act] reviews.”
• U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-California) announced that 15 California local governments were awarded $95 million from the National Park Service (NPS) to upgrade outdoor recreation spaces in underserved communities, according to a Sept. 30 statement from Padilla’s office. The funding comes from the NPS Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Grants Program and will support park projects in urban neighborhoods where residents currently have few outdoor recreation opportunities. Padilla and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) led the bipartisan Outdoors for All Act, which would codify the popular Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership program into law and make improvements to it. The program awards grants to urban and low-income communities around the country to improve outdoor recreation infrastructure, revitalize local economies, and enhance the quality of life in these neighborhoods. Padilla also leads a funding request for this critical program through the annual appropriations process. “Everyone deserves access to outdoor parks and green spaces no matter their ZIP code,” Sen. Padilla said in a statement. “Growing up in Los Angeles, I know firsthand that far too many urban, low-income communities like mine lack sufficient access to green parks, shady spaces, and clean air. This significant investment in California urban parks will grow more active, healthier neighborhoods while supporting climate resilience in vulnerable communities.”
This article appears in Oct 10-20, 2024.
