SB1132, the bill calling for a moratorium on fracking in California is just three votes short of passing in the California State Senate, with four Democrats still abstaining from casting their votes. The vote garnered only 18 votes in favor of the moratorium and remains 'on call' for reconsideration tomorrow.
The State Senators who have not yet voted -- and their phone numbers -- are:
Lou Correa (916) 651-4034
Ed Hernandez (916) 651-4024
Ben Hueso (916) 651-4040
Ricardo Lara (916) 651-4033
Richard D. Roth (916) 651-4031
The two Democrats who voted against the bill were Cathleen Galgiani and Norma Torres.
As SB 1132 successfully passed through Appropriations to a vote on the full senate floor last Friday, David Turnbull noted just how huge a role Big Oil bucks play on the Senate floor.
The numbers (according to Oil Change International's Dirty Energy Money database) tell the story:
• On average, Senators voting against the moratorium have received nearly 3 times as much in Big Oil contributions than those voting for it.
• The two Senators voting against the moratorium have received over $110k in Big Oil money combined (Sen. Walters = $82k, Sen. Gaines = $29k)
Dan Batcher, who
posted here about the huge amounts of money Western States Petroleum pours into the California State Senate, noted last November that Senators Correa and Torres had hit the big time, gaining positions at an exclusive The Kitchen dinner hosted by the Association. (See
Big Oil treated legislators to $13,000 dinner before fracking bill vote)
Correa abstained from voting on SB1132; Torres voted no.
The heat is on. But SB 1132 is not dead in the water.
Twitter Campaign
Senator Richardo Laura @SenRicardoLara
Senator Lou Correa @SenLouCorrea
Senator Cathleen Galgiani @SenatorGalgiani
Senator Richard Roth @GeneralRoth
Senator Norma Torres @NormaJTorres
Sample Tweet:
Stand with Californians & support #SB1132 tomorrow @SenLouCorrea @SenatorGalgiani @SenRicardoLara
Some Orgs to Follow & Retweet
SierraClub CA
California League of Conservation Voters
Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment @CRPE
8:42 PM PT: Diary amended numerous times. Currently, attempt to get abstentions to vote will occur tomorrow.