by Katy Grimes, E&E Legal Senior Media Fellow and California Globe Editor
As Appearing in the California Globe
The governor cannot prohibit oil and gas drilling, or new leases, in federal waters off California’s coast
“Governor Newsom announces historic new ocean protections as Trump pushes offshore drilling,” a press release from the governor’s office proclaims. “As the Trump administration continues its assault on California’s coast, Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the state is protecting more of its coastal waters than ever before by creating the first new marine protected areas in more than a decade and expanding protections for vital ocean habitats.”
Let’s start with the law: The governor cannot prohibit oil and gas drilling, or new leases, in federal waters off California’s coast.
Federal preemption is the doctrine under which valid federal law overrides conflicting state law. It rests on the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which makes the Constitution, federal statutes, and treaties “the supreme Law of the Land.”
In late September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 1448 by Assemblyman Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara), “to protect California’s coastline from federal offshore oil and gas drilling.”
It really is appalling that the elected representative from Santa Barbara is actively deterring the oil and gas industry in his own region, when supporting more drilling would lead to energy abundance, and would help greatly to lower oil and gas prices.
