BILL ALLOWING PEOPLE TO SUE OIL FIRMS OVER HEALTH ISSUES NIXED

Calif. lawmakers also halt measure to up emissions targets

California lawmakers blocked two big environmental bills Thursday: One that would have ramped up the state’s emissions targets, and another that would have made oil companies liable for the health problems of people who live close to oil wells.

They are among the hundreds of bills that did not survive the Legislature’s suspense file, a mysterious process where lawmakers decide — with no explanation — which bills will get a chance to become law later this year and which ones should not move forward.

Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law that bans drilling new oil wells within 3,200 feet of sensitive areas like homes and schools. But the law hasn’t taken effect because the oil industry qualified a referendum on the 2024 ballot asking voters to overturn it.

That referendum angered environmental and health advocates. They decided if the oil industry wanted to block that law, then they would try to pass another law to let people who got sick from living too close to wells to sue the oil companies responsible for them. The bill, authored by Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, would have required oil companies to pay up to $1 million to people who have cancer or other health problems associated with the well.

“Today, we missed a key opportunity to advance legislation that would hold polluters accountable and prevent further harm to families who are just trying to stay healthy and have a better quality of life,” Gonzalez said in a statement.

The Senate Appropriations Committee stopped the bill from getting a vote by the full Senate.

State Sen. Henry Stern, a Malibu Democrat, introduced another bill this year that would have required the state to reduce its planetwarming emissions to 55 percent below the 1990 level by the end of 2030. The state has already set out to reduce those emissions by 40 percent by that same deadline.

“The bill dying was a reflection of the impasse I worry we’re heading towards on climate in California,” Stern said in a statement. “As the world races ahead, we may get stuck debating pathways forward.”

Other bills that failed included a plan to allow people struggling with suicidal thoughts to voluntarily register themselves on a “do not sell” list for firearms. A bill that would require the Department of Justice to investigate all police use-of-force incidents that resulted in the death of civilians also didn’t make it through Thursday, nor did legislation that would have expanded access to mental health treatment for inmates.