Assembly OKs New Offshore Oil Drilling Ban : Legislation: The measure extends prohibition to Ventura County. Assembly also rejects a bill that would have broadened state’s assault weapon ban.
SACRAMENTO — The Assembly on Tuesday passed and sent to Gov. Pete Wilson legislation to ban indefinitely new offshore oil drilling in state waters from Imperial Beach to the Oregon border.
Although most of the state’s coast is covered by a patchwork of prohibitions, this measure would extend the ban to Ventura County and remove provisions that would allow drilling to resume in some areas as early as next year.
The Assembly, rushing toward tonight’s scheduled adjournment, approved the bill on a 46-27 vote and sent it to Wilson, who has until the end of September to decide whether to sign or veto it.
In other action Tuesday, the Senate passed a Democrat-backed campaign finance measure that probably faces a veto, while the Assembly approved another bill, also with doubtful prospects, that would overhaul a controversial school testing program.
The Assembly also rejected a bill that would have broadened California’s assault weapon ban so it would cover more of the high-powered firearms.
The offshore oil drilling measure puts Wilson in something of an election-year bind.
The governor has opposed offshore drilling since his days as mayor of San Diego, and as a U.S. senator he worked to persuade then President George Bush to limit development of oil wells in federal waters off California’s coast.
The drilling ban is needed to provide a uniform policy along the state’s 1,000-mile coastline, according to Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria), the bill’s sponsor. O’Connell said that offshore drilling is a serious environmental hazard and that a major spill could devastate parts of the state’s lucrative tourism industry.
But the governor of late has been crusading against measures that harm the state’s image as a good place to do business. Oil companies, which have contributed significant sums to his campaigns, oppose the bill.
Gavin McHugh, a lobbyist for Texaco, said the bill would limit job growth in the oil industry and related fields that support the drilling operations.
“A permanent ban would block our development of new leases and eliminate the possibility of developing these resources for jobs, tax revenue and royalties to the state,†McHugh said in an interview.
Wilson has not taken a position on the bill, according to a spokesman for his office.
The Senate adopted a Democratic version of campaign finance reform on a 21-16 vote, the bare majority necessary. The measure, awaiting final passage in the Assembly, would limit contributions to legislative campaigns and provide for partial taxpayer financing of those races.
Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Santa Monica), who voted for the bill, called it a “token†reform.
“But symbolically it is very important,†Hayden said, because now there are no limits on contributions to legislative races.
Senate Republican Leader Ken Maddy of Fresno said the bill was flawed because it would not stop party leaders from funneling huge amounts of cash from special interest groups to their allies.
The bill, Maddy said, “provides all the worst of the current system, plus public financing of campaigns.â€
On another matter, the Assembly narrowly approved a bill to revamp the format for the controversial school performance tests known as the California Comprehensive Testing Program, formerly the California Learning Assessment System, and give parents a larger role in their development.
A 41-28 party line vote, the minimum required for approval, sent the bill, authored by Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara), back to the Senate for review of Assembly amendments. Democrats voted yes and Republicans voted no.
Wilson is expected to veto the bill because it does not provide for students to get individual test scores so they and their parents can measure progress against statewide standards.
Assemblywoman Dede Alpert (D-San Diego), who handled the bill on the lower house floor, called it “truly a world class test, one that will really challenge our students, and determine if they are really prepared for the workday world.â€
Alpert said the new format expressly prohibits questions on the CLAS test that relate to the pupil’s or parent’s or guardian’s personal beliefs or practices in sex, family life, morality or religion. She said parents also can choose to have their children not take the test.
An opponent, Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach), said the bill “doesn’t meet the mark†because it does not meet three criteria: validity, reliability, and practicality.
The assault weapons bill rejected in the Assembly represented the last chance for state Sen. David A. Roberti (D-Van Nuys) to clean up his 1989 ban, which listed forbidden guns by name but gave gun makers and sellers an opening to market renamed models. The bill got 33 votes in favor, eight short of the majority needed for passage.
The vote followed an emotional exchange between Assemblyman Larry Bowler (R-Elk Grove) and Assemblywoman Jackie Speier (D-Burlingame), who pushed for the bill’s passage. Suggesting that Speier was out of her league, Bowler demanded to know how much Speier knew about the guns.
She shot back: “Have you ever been shot by an automatic rifle? Well, I have and I can show you a lot of scars.†Speier was seriously wounded in 1978 during the Jonestown massacre in Guyana while an aide to the late Rep. Leo Ryan.
Roberti said he was disappointed at the vote, but hoped to try to bring the bill up for another vote today. “Maybe those who voted it down have to realize people in their districts don’t like to hear the rat-a-tat-tat of automatic weapons.â€
The Assembly, on a 58-0 vote, also passed and placed on the November ballot a proposed constitutional amendment to overhaul the state’s judicial discipline process. The measure would remove the cloak of secrecy that has surrounded the disciplinary actions of the Commission on Judicial Performance.
The Assembly also voted 73-0 to approved an Orange County lawmaker’s bill that would put first-time child molesters and violent rapists in prison for 25 years to life. The so-called “one-strike†bill carried by Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) now goes back to the Senate for a vote today.
Times staff writers Eric Bailey, Cynthia Craft and Daniel M. Weintraub contributed to this story.
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