Senator Min Vows to Introduce Legislation Ending All Offshore Drilling in California State Waters

Huntington Beach, CA — Senator Dave Min announced that he would be introducing legislation in the next legislative session that would end all drilling in California state waters, including under existing leases. This legislation, which comes in response to the Orange County Oil Spill just off the coast of Huntington Beach, comes one day after Senator Min called for a ban on all drilling in federal waters off the coast of California. Senator Min is the first legislator across the country to propose such a ban at either the federal or state level in wake of the recent spill.

“California is known around the world for its beautiful beaches and coastal ecosystems, which attract more than 150 million visitors each year and facilitate a $44 billion coastal economy that employs half a million people,” said Senator Min. “The Orange County Oil Spill illustrates once again that offshore oil drilling is a bad deal for Californians. The revenues and jobs created by offshore drilling are miniscule in size compared to the negative economic impacts this creates. We must end all offshore oil drilling along California’s coast, including drilling performed under existing leases. I intend to introduce legislation doing just that.”

This legislation would complement Senator Min’s call yesterday for federal legislators to end all drilling, including under existing leases, in federally controlled water off the coast of California. Senator Min represents the cities of Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach, which are the cities primarily impacted by the oil spill, which has been estimated to be as large as 133,000 gallons in size. These communities also contain some of the most important and protected marine ecosystem preserves in the state, such as the Huntington Beach Wetlands, the Bolsa Chica Reserve, and the Crystal Cove Conservancy.

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Dave Min represents California State Senate District 37, which is located in Orange County and includes the communities of Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Foothill Ranch, Huntington Beach, Irvine, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Orange, Tustin, and Villa Park.

Dave was a University of California Irvine law professor and a former economic policy staffer in the United States Senate and for the Center for American Progress. He began his legal career at the Securities and Exchange Commission to protect the retirement security of seniors, turning down high-paying jobs to serve the public interest. Dave and his wife Jane live and work in Irvine, where they are raising their three young children.