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.
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.
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.
“The health of our communities always comes first,” Newsom said. “These new laws allow local leaders to limit dangerous oil and gas activities near homes, schools, and other areas as they see fit for their communities, and give the state more tools to make sure that idle and low-producing wells get plugged sooner.”
(This is a developing story and will be updated.)