Two bills authored by Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara)—including one that fights against President Trump’s energy efforts in California—were just signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom as part of a conservation legislative packet.
Hart’s bills include AB 1804, which makes the state parks’ library program permanent, and AB 1448, a landmark piece of environmental legislation which proponents have said closes a loophole in the federal government’s attempts to open the California coast to offshore drilling.
“As the Trump Administration continues its reckless push to expand fossil fuel production in federal waters, AB 1448 ensures that existing infrastructure in state waters cannot be used to facilitate those efforts,” Hart said in a press release. “This bill strengthens our commitment to protecting marine ecosystems, coastal communities, and California’s world-renowned natural resources.”
California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot made the announcement on Tuesday in a “fireside chat” on biodiversity and natural resources with Newsom in San Francisco.
Local and statewide environmental organizations applauded the passage of AB 1448.
“This has been a long time coming, and it’s a significant advancement in the ability of our state to protect itself from Trump’s plans to open up our coast to more oil and gas development,” Linda Krop, chief counsel for the Environmental Defense Center, said of AB 1448.
The Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center was an original sponsor for AB 1448 and worked closely with Hart in authoring the bill.
“California just stepped up in the face of Trump’s deranged offshore drilling plan,” said Brady Bradshaw, California advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund, another co-sponsor of AB 1448. “This administration’s shameless attempt to industrialize the ocean has made it clear that we have to defend our wildlife and natural spaces with everything we’ve got.”
