THE BUZZ — Legislation that has sailed through the state Capitol with unanimous support appears to have an unusual source of inspiration: oil industry talking points. Republican Sen. Shannon Grove’s bill would require California to report the carbon emissions associated with importing oil from foreign countries. It would also direct the Energy Commission to monitor whether the oil comes from places with fewer environmental regulations or a record of human rights abuses. Grove said the bill is designed to illustrate the benefits of in-state oil drilling, which she says is more ethically sourced due to tighter environmental and labor regulations. But environmental groups say the measure is designed to trick lawmakers into endorsing arguments that large oil refiners have deployed in their campaign against a ban on drilling within more than a half-mile of homes, schools and other public places. The industry is challenging the setback law with a referendum on the November 2024 ballot. “It’s a way for Shannon Grove to convince the Democratic supermajority to advance oil talking points,” said Dan Ress, staff attorney at the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment. Ress’ group, along with the Center for Biological Diversity and Communities for a Better Environment, sent a letter to the Assembly Appropriations Committee urging it to shelve Grover’s measure, Senate Bill 15. It passed through the Senate and the Assembly Natural Resources Committee without a single “nay” vote from Democrats. Ress said the bill has largely flown under the radar because environmentalists don’t expect Republican oil bills to gain momentum. Grove’s bill seems designed to put Democrats in an uncomfortable spot, as environmentalists have long raised concerns about oil drilling in the Amazon Basin. California imported more than 56 percent of its oil from foreign countries in 2021, with more than 40 percent coming from the Amazon region. The second largest source was Saudi Arabia, which has a long and widely condemned record of human rights abuses. Grove took issue with the notion that she’s carrying recent industry talking points, saying, “I’ve been working on this for years.” Grove’s bill has advanced as oil-industry groups fund an advertising blitz emphasizing the benefits of in-state oil production. The most visible group, Californians for Energy Independence, has blanketed social media and news websites with ads emphasizing that the state “is an energy island dependent on foreign oil.” Californians for Energy Independence is largely funded by oil companies and has received more than $3.6 million from Chevron this year. Since June, the group has run 180 social media ads on Facebook and Instagram, according to data from parent company Meta. Severin Borenstein, an economist and faculty director of the Energy Institute at Haas at UC Berkeley, said it’s logical that producing more oil in California could slightly reduce imports. But, he said, there’s a catch: Oil production in the state is already falling because its aging oil fields are tapping out. Any Democrats wary that Grove’s bill has advanced so easily will have a chance to attempt to kill it this week when it’s on the Appropriations Committee’s suspense file. It could be their chance to snuff it without the fanfare of a floor debate. Grove, meanwhile, said she expects the bill will die this week. She’s apparently made her point.
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