Environmental justice advocates are expected to start a campaign on Wednesday for a proposed statewide initiative to mandate health and safety buffer zones around new oil and gas wells, as California voters We are likely to see two similar bills on the ballot in November 2024.
If environmental groups gather enough signatures to qualify for their initiative, the results of the ballot would invalidate the results of a referendum on oil interests that already had the same voting rights, advocates said. rice field. The referendum aims to overturn SB 1137, a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September that prohibits new wells within 3,200 feet of schools, homes and buildings open to the public.
This ballot measure has almost the same chances as SB 1137 and is the latest political ploy by environmental activists who continue to work alongside unions against corporate interests in the state capitol. The group alleges that the corporation is deliberately misleading Californians and abusing the state’s direct democratic process to delay and overturn state laws approved by the Democratic majority in Sacramento.
Not only does it campaign to persuade Californians to reject an oil-industry-backed referendum (a potentially disruptive “yes” vote to maintain the existing legally mandated buffer zone). necessary), well control advocates argue it would be easier to campaign against it. An entirely separate voting vehicle. Their initiative will ask voters whether to ban new wells in neighborhoods and around public buildings through a simple yes or no vote.
“The oil industry, the tobacco industry, and industries like that are winning by confusing voters,” said Chris Lehman, campaign manager for the Setback Vote Initiative. “There is a public interest in making clear what the public chooses to do. Tell the truth and we win.”
Labor unions and environmental activists are also in the midst of a campaign to persuade the state legislature to change the state’s referendum process. Congress Bill 421This will increase transparency of who is funding the effort and help voters understand the impact of signing petitions and voting on ballots.
Referendums give voters an opportunity to vote for or against a law after it is enacted, and act as a check on the legislature and the governor. To ask voters to overturn the law on the next statewide ballot, referendum supporters must get the following signatures: 5% of voters in the last gubernatorial election.
In California, voters opposed to rejecting the law must vote “yes” and those who want to overturn it must vote “no,” but unions and environmental groups say some voters get it. claims not to. Supporters said voters were further confused by allegations that petitioners were paid by oil and fast food companies to mislead voters about their intentions.
AB 421 removed the “yes” or “no” answers to the referendum question and instead asked voters to “uphold the law” or “overturn the law,” asking the year the law was enacted. It is a description that includes Condensed into 15 words to describe the subject and a summary of what is subverted.
The frustration vote initiative is the latest example of interest groups aligned with the Democratic Party fighting back against corporate efforts to reverse policy victories in Sacramento.
In January, fast-food companies and business groups successfully collected enough signatures to force a referendum on a law calling for higher wages and better working conditions for fast-food workers, helping voters approve the 2024 policy. effectively suspended the enactment of the bill pending consideration of the ballot paper.
AB 257, also known as the Rapid Recovery Act, is a priority for unions to establish the first council of workers, employers and government representatives to set wages and workplace standards statewide. It was made.
Unions fought back this summer with state budgets, successfully persuading lawmakers and governors to provide $3 million to revive the Industrial Welfare Commission. The Industrial Welfare Board is a body that considers wage increases and working conditions regulations similar to those approved by AB257.
Another bill, backed by the Service Workers International Labor Union of California (AB 1228), calls for holding fast food companies accountable for ensuring that franchisees comply with labor laws. The bill stalled before a Senate committee last month, but proponents plan to resubmit it to Congress soon.
The California Chamber of Commerce said businesses are turning to the referendum process after Democrats dominate Congress. The parliament has compared several referendums and defended the use of the referendum process. Eligible to vote in the last 10 years Thousands of laws passed at the same time.
Defenders of labor unions and environmental groups say the laws the companies are targeting were enacted by Democrats to protect the most vulnerable Californians.
“The statewide victory for securing a 3,200-foot health and safety buffer zone is defended based on the lived experience of those of us who have lived on the front lines of oil and gas extraction and its extremely serious health impacts. It has taken root,” said Silvia Arredondo, the community’s civic engagement director. for a better environment. “And we’re taking it to the next level by introducing competing voting measures on what it means to live in a community that’s healthy, free from toxic oil drilling nearby, and better living. , will continue to codify the vision of the community’s quality of life. ”
