As an independent investigative journalist exposing oil industry money and power in California, I get excited when any groups make my efforts to reveal Big Oil Deep Regulatory Capture in the so-called “green” and “progressive” state easier
Well, I’m happy to say that a coalition of community groups is releasing a scorecard grading California legislators in advance of the CA senate hearing on SB 467, a bill that would ban fracking, other dangerous drilling, and mandate a setback distance between fossil fuel extraction and neighborhoods.
The scorecard looks at the last nine years of financial contributions from the oil and gas industry and climate voting records.
Environmental justice coalition VISION, co-sponsor of SB 467, is hosting a webinar to share the results of their scorecard next Wednesday. Here’s the news advisory:
Oil & Gas Scorecard Reveals Industry’s Decade-Long Influence on CA Politics
Join a Briefing with Environmental Justice Leaders Working to End Neighborhood Drilling
WHAT: Nearly 7.5 million Californians—mostly people of color—live within one mile of an oil or gas well, increasing their risk of headaches, nausea, dizziness, nosebleeds, severe respiratory trouble and cancer. For years, California lawmakers and regulators have known that proximity to oil production sites increases exposure to toxic chemicals but have done little to protect the communities on the frontlines of fossil fuel extraction.
VISION, a coalition of community-based and environmental justice organizations, will be releasing a 2021 Oil and Gas Scorecard tracking state legislators’ climate voting record and fossil fuel industry contributions over the last nine years. Findings will be released during the VISION Scorecard Briefing, a week before state senators in the Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on SB 467, a bill that would ban fracking and other forms of dangerous drilling and also mandate a setback distance to protect communities from new oil drilling.
WHEN: 10 AM, Wednesday April 7, 2021
WHERE: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_W3YQJDCcT-KA0JAj8D6F4A
Media must RSVP in advance. Questions can be submitted in advance of the briefing or asked at the end of the webinar. Email: aimee@hollywoodunited.org
WHO: Legislative staff and California’s frontline organizers:
- Anthony Rendon, Speaker (AD 63), California State Assembly
- Juan Flores, Community Organizer, Center on Race, Poverty & the Environment
- Other community speakers
WHY: Most scorecards evaluate legislators on their performance over the course of a year. VISION's new scorecard is the first and only scorecard to take into account the past nine years of service, cumulatively scoring legislators' key votes on environmental justice provisions and major financial contributions received from the oil and gas industry.