Oil and gas.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material only mentions the intent for the Energy Commission to identify countries with human rights abuses or lower environmental standards on its website; it does not require state agencies to monitor oil imports.

Oil and Gas Reporting and Monitoring

This legislation requires state agencies to monitor oil imports, greenhouse gas emissions related to oil transportation, and air quality impacts of importing gasoline by tanker ships.

What This Bill Does

• Expresses the intent that the Energy Commission identify on its website foreign countries exporting oil to California that have documented human rights abuses or lower environmental standards for oil production than California.
• Directs the State Air Resources Board to produce an annual assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from transporting oil in California and post it online.
• Requires the Energy Commission to provide data collected under the Petroleum Industry Information Reporting Act to the State Air Resources Board for their assessments.
• Necessitates that the Geologic Energy Management Division link air quality emission data related to imported oil on its website.
• Requires the Energy Commission to display reports about potential impacts of importing gasoline by tanker ships and refinery storage costs prominently on its homepage.

Who It Names or Affects

• State agencies such as the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, the State Air Resources Board, and the Geologic Energy Management Division.
• Oil refineries in California that report data to state agencies.
• Foreign countries exporting oil to California.

Terms To Know

Petroleum Industry Information Reporting Act

A law requiring oil refiners to provide monthly reports on the origin of petroleum and imported finished products to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to climate change.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify how state agencies will enforce or implement these requirements.
• It is unclear what specific actions foreign countries might take in response to being identified on California's website for human rights abuses or lower environmental standards.
• Funding limitations are set, prohibiting the use of electric ratepayer funds for implementing these new reporting and monitoring requirements.

Official Summary Text

SB 13, as amended, Grove.
Oil and gas.
Existing law, the Petroleum Industry Information Reporting Act of 1980, requires refiners, as described, to report monthly to the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Energy Commission), for each of their refineries, specified information, including the origin of petroleum receipts and the source of imports of finished petroleum products.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature that the Energy Commission monitor foreign countries that export oil to California and identify on its internet website which of those countries have demonstrated human rights abuses, as documented by the United States Department of State, and which of those countries have lower environmental standards for the production of oil than California.
Existing law imposes various limitations on
the emissions of air contaminants for the control of air pollution from vehicular and nonvehicular sources. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to post on its internet website information on air quality conditions and trends statewide and to develop and conduct a program of monitoring airborne fine particles smaller than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM 2.5).
This bill would require the state board to annually produce an assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the transportation of oil in California, as specified, and to include that assessment on the state board’s internet website. The bill would also require the Energy Commission to annually provide data collected pursuant to the Petroleum Industry Information Reporting Act of 1980 to the state board for the purposes of the assessment. The bill would require the data to comply with specified existing confidentiality requirements. The bill would prohibit the commission from using any
funds from electric ratepayers to implement these requirements, as provided.
The bill would also require the state board to post on its internet website a report on the air quality impact of potentially importing 5% to 10% of the state’s gasoline supply using tanker ships.
Under existing law, the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation regulates the drilling, operation, maintenance, and abandonment of oil and gas wells in the state.
This bill would require the division to provide a link on its internet website to air quality emissions data associated with the transportation of oil imported into the state.
Existing law vests the Energy Commission with various responsibilities for developing and implementing the state’s energy policies.
This bill would require the Energy Commission to prominently display on the front page of its internet website a report on the air quality impact of
potentially importing 5% to 10% of the state’s gasoline supply using tanker ships and a report describing the refinery storage costs as determined by the Energy Commission, as specified. The bill would also require a report produced by the Energy Commission estimating gasoline price breakdowns and margins to include the cost of shipping oil. The bill would prohibit the commission from using any funds from electric ratepayers to implement these requirements.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF