CEI Praises California Oil Drilling and No-New-Tax Budget Compromise

But State Still In Trouble With Global Warming Law

WASHINGTON, DC, July 21, 2009 – Top California lawmakers have included a plan for expanding oil drilling off the Southern California coast, as part of a budget compromise aimed at closing the state’s $26 billion shortfall.  The move drew praise from the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
“State Republican legislators, led by Senate Minority Leader Dennis Hollingsworth, are to be commended for forcing Republican Governor Schwarzenegger and the Democratic majority in the legislature to accept a budget deal that includes no tax increases, significant budget cuts, and new offshore oil and gas production,” said Myron Ebell, Director of Energy and Global Warming Policy for the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
Ebell, however, also warned that drilling won’t be enough to save the state.  “California’s budget agreement will not bail out California’s economy, but it won’t contribute to further decline.  California must repeal the state’s economically catastrophic global warming legislation.”
The state in 2006 passed legislation requiring carbon dioxide emissions reductions by 25 percent cut mandated by 2020.  The cost of the global warming legislation, according to a new study, will be enormous – over 1 million jobs.
Under the governor’s plan, the state would allow drilling off the Santa Barbara coast, estimated to generate some $1.8 billion in revenue over time. It would reportedly be the state’s first new offshore oil project in four decades.
> Read more on global warming and energy policy at Globalwarming.org.