Speaker Robert Rivas, Assemblymember Dawn Addis Champion Landmark Community Protections Against Harms of Oil Production

MONTEREY, CA- Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas joined Assemblymember Dawn Addis this week to champion ongoing leadership in protecting California’s workers and communities from the harms of oil and gas production.

The latest accomplishment: Assembly Bill 3233.

Assemblymember Addis — a Democrat whose district includes Big Sur, San Luis Obispo and the Monterey peninsula — authored the legislation to address the imbalance of power between local communities and major oil corporations, which have historically operated at the expense of the health, safety and well-being of Californians and the natural environment.

Her bill affirms that local governments have authority to limit or prohibit oil and gas operations in their communities, ensuring residents across California will be protected from the environmental and public health harms of oil production.

Speaker Rivas, a Democrat whose Central Coast district includes nearby Salinas, supported the bill as Assemblymember Addis led it through the Legislature, and Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed it into law. 

This achievement is a continuation of Speaker Rivas’ climate-action legacy. As a supervisor, he led a community effort to ban fracking and the extraction of natural gas in San Benito County, and soon after did the same in Monterey County. 

Supported by a variety of organizations including the Center for Biological Diversity, the California Federation of Teachers, the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy California and the California State Association of Counties, AB 3233 goes into effect on January 1 and will mark a significant step for environmental justice and safety across the Golden State.

What Assemblymember Dawn Addis Says

“I thank Speaker Robert Rivas for his partnership in getting AB 3233 to the Governor’s desk. With his leadership, communities across California can now say no to pollution of oil and gas production and know their voice matters. I authored AB 3233 because it is good for our region and our state, but most of all, it’s good for the generations of people who now have a true choice to demand clean air and water, free from the devastating pollution caused by oil and gas.”

What Speaker Robert Rivas Says

“A decade ago as a county supervisor, I led an effort in my home county of San Benito to ban fracking. Big Oil went after us hard, but we had tremendous support from our community — and we succeeded. But our community didn’t stop there, and we banned fracking in Monterey County, as well. Now, because of Assemblymember Dawn Addis’ leadership, communities across California can limit or prohibit oil and gas operations, ensuring we call the shots, not Big Oil.”

What the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund’s Christina Scaringe Says

“We all know why we need this law. Oil produced in California is among the dirtiest and most climate-damaging in the world. It causes toxic pollution that can increase the risks of cancer and reproductive and respiratory harms. It pollutes our water and threatens public safety – risking fires, explosions, leaks, spills, and chemical releases.”

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Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas represents California’s 29th Assembly District, which includes all of San Benito County and portions of Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara Counties. For a full biography of Speaker Rivas, click here.