10-15-07 by dugan
A rumor briefly swirled yesterday that Gov. Schwarzenegger would veto a deceptive “biofuel development” bill pushed with the full force of Assembly Speaker Fabian Nuñez . That sounded too good to be true, and it was. Schwarzenegger signed the bill, AB118, in the final hours before his deadline for doing so—the same way the bill was passed in the last overnight hours of the legislative session with no debate.
Once again the oil business gets its way in California politics, and the powers that be simply disregard the petroleum stench hanging over their actions. Schwarzenegger has taken $665,00 from Chevron Corp. since he was elected, including $100,000 in May as number of bills of interest to the oil industry were being introduced. The Democratic Party notably accepted $50,000 from Chevron this spring for a fund specifically controlled by Nuñez. Chevron also gave $100,000 this year to the term limits ballot initiative backed by Nunez that would give him extra years as Assembly Speaker.
Bad enough that that the “biofuels” bill takes from taxpayers for research that the oil companies should be financing just to ensure their own futures. Worse that the money could go from working class pockets to oil companies (read: Chevron) raking in tens of billions of dollars in profit, year after year. And there’s no guarantee that it will actually be spent on biofuels.
The bill’s idea sounds green and good for kick-starting a young industry in California–just like last year’s Proposition 87, narrowly defeated by voters after Chevron spent about $40 million to kill it (because it was funded by a modest fee on oil). But the Nuñez bill, instead of dinging oil companies for a few million bucks out of their tens of billions in profits, raises motorists’ yearly car tax and car buyers’ smog abatement fees.
Credit goes to courageous legislative staff experts, who refused to back down on their conclusion that the “development money” could go to Chevron (read their report here), and Sen. Alan Lowenthal, who saw the same thing and protested. The bill was passed in the last hours of the legislative session, with no chance to debate dubious amendments forced through the state Senate by Nunez. Even Senate leader Don Perata admitted he was only doing what the Speaker demanded (Perata needed a favor from Nuñez on an equally smelly bill pushed by one of Perata’s biggest campaign donors, in the ferry industry).
Schwarzenegger also signed another bill backed by Nunez that will delay and possibly kill a fix to the “hot fuel” ripoff of motorists at the pump, by studying the issue to death and letting industry representatives help decide if it needs fixing.
The association that represents independent truckers, who each lose hundreds of dollars a year on hot fuel, begged Schwarzenegger to veto that one (as did OilWatchdog), but the truckers’ group is based in Missouri—not within in Schwarzenegger’s worldview.
The hot fuel measure, AB868, was sponsored by freshman L.A. Assemblyman Mike Davis, who oddly received $2,200 in donations from Chevron as the bill was being written this spring, well after his election last November. He also got $500 from the California Independent Oil Marketers Association, which claims itself as “cosponsor” of the measure.
At the same time, the oil marketers’ group gave $500 to Nunez’s “officeholder account,” since he’s termed out under current law and has no reelection account. It’s nothing compared to the $50,000 from Chevron to the Democratic Party, but for CIOMA it was noticeable money, noticeably timed.
As for the other bills affecting the oil industry, particularly the profiteering by Californian refineries, they were weakened first and killed later.
Here’s an excerpt from the letter that OilWatchdog sent to Nunez in August. Our conclusions about the power of oil money stand.
"Chevron, for instance, gave $100,000 on July 23 to one of your
chief causes, a February ballot initiative altering term limits that
would allow you to extend your term as Assembly Speaker by six years.
The donation arrived after the weakened oil industry bills passed the
Legislature. Your chief staff consultant, Gale Kaufman, is the
spokesperson for the committee."We are equally troubled by a $50,000 donation this year by
Chevron to the California Democratic Party that appears to be tied
personally to you. The April 5 contribution is reported by Chevron, in
an atypical manner, as designated for "Assembly Democrats." Sources
within the Democratic Party confirm that these are funds solicited in
conjunction with your "Speakers Cup" fundraising event [in April] …
and which you will dispense. There is no question that raising funds
from the state’s largest oil company for the reelection of your
Assembly members, then quietly compromising oil industry reform bills,
creates a cloud over your office. The easiest course for you to clear
the cloud is for you to return Chevron’s contribution."