SB 350

Shining Light Into A Big Black Hole (Or The Undisclosed Millions Big Industry Spends Lobbying)

Submitted by Carmen Balber on Mon, 12/14/2015 - 08:25
The Fair Political Practices Commission is promoting new lobbyist disclosure rules after massive spending by the oil industry at the end of the last legislative session killed a law that would have reduced petroleum use in California by 50%. 
 

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Not All Solar Power Is Equal: Sacramento Sticks It To The Homeowners

Submitted by Jamie Court on Tue, 12/01/2015 - 10:41
As Governor Brown and legislative leaders try to spur climate change reforms worldwide in Paris, the Los Angeles Times’ energy reporter Ivan Penn uncovered how the statehouse’s climate reform stuck it to rooftop solar power homeowners in favor of the big utilities. 
 
The cautionary tale for Paris reformers is cleaner energy needs also to be cheaper energy and ratepayers shouldn’t be taken for a ride in the process or it will undermine the movement to curb global warming.

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Volkswagen Scandal Shows Why Big Oil Wanted to Gut Air Resources Board

Submitted by Eddie Barrera on Wed, 09/23/2015 - 09:29

Big Oil wanted to gut the Air Resources Board during a major climate change legislative fight earlier this month, and this week, we had yet another glimpse of why.

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Big Oil Slick Captures Capitol

Submitted by Jamie Court on Thu, 09/10/2015 - 06:51

The power of California’s oil refiners is always felt but rarely visible in Sacramento.  It was on full display at Wednesday’s press conference when the Governor, State Senate leader and Assembly Speaker acknowledged that California's effort to lead the world by cutting petroleum use in half was dead for the year due to oil company lobbying and advertising.

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Why CA Climate Change Will Lower Gasoline Prices

Submitted by Jamie Court on Wed, 09/09/2015 - 07:33

The fate of landmark climate legislation will be decided before the California statehouse closes for the year Friday. Its oil industry opponents are desperate to stop it, claiming the proposal will drive up prices at the pump.  In fact, Senate Bill 350,  currently written to cut California's gasoline use in half by 2030, will actually lower gasoline prices by increasing scarce gasoline inventories. 

That's why Big Oil is desperate to amend the legislation into oblivion.

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Chamber of Commerce Doing Bidding of Big Oil on Climate Change Bills

Submitted by Eddie Barrera on Sun, 04/12/2015 - 12:10

The California Chamber of Commerce's usual and powerful response to meaningful climate change legislation is to call it a "job killer."
 
In 2006, the Legislature passed groundbreaking AB 32, which aimed to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases that cause global warming to 1990s levels by 2020. The Chamber said that it would be a job killer and push businesses out of the state. It lost that battle, and nearly ten years later, the predictions proved false.
 

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