Bill > AB1448

This bill aims to strengthen regulations around oil and gas development in California's coastal zones by implementing several key provisions. The bill prohibits the State Lands Commission or local trustees from entering into new leases or authorizing new oil and gas infrastructure construction on tidelands and submerged lands within state waters associated with Pacific Outer Continental Shelf leases. When considering lease renewals, extensions, amendments, or assignments, the commission or local trustee must now evaluate multiple factors, including potential environmental impacts, human health and safety risks, and the lease's benefit to the state. The bill requires such lease modifications to be approved by at least 23 of all commission or local trustee members. Additionally, the legislation mandates that oil produced offshore must be transported onshore exclusively by pipelines using the best available technology, and requires the State Fire Marshal to seek federal certification for interstate hazardous liquid pipelines. The bill also revises the definition of "expanded oil extraction" to include reactivating facilities that have been idle for more than three years or using unconventional extraction technologies like hydraulic fracturing. Furthermore, the bill requires obtaining a new coastal development permit for repairing or reactivating oil and gas facilities that have been inactive for three or more years, effectively imposing additional oversight on coastal resource development.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Budget and Finance

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1448