Correa a Likely Deciding Vote on Fracking Bill 1132 — and HIS VOTE WAS NO!

By
Greg Diamond
– May 28, 2014Posted in: "The OC", Fresh Juice

UPDATE 5/29: Correa voted “NO” on the fracking moratorium bill, which failed 16-16-5.

From now on, he gets served only tap water.  If he has a problem with that, he can explain why.

As noted earlier this week, the bill calling for a moratorium on fracking reached its floor vote on Wednesday, with the time being held still through tomorrow morning.  Today, SB 1132 will either fail or move on.

It appears that the deciding votes are Sens. Ben Hueso, Ricardo Lara, Ed Hernandez, Richard Roth — and OC’s own Lou Correa.  Correa has abstained on the bill so far; whatever the other four did today, their votes are still considered to be “in play.”

Labor, from nurses to longshoremen, are in favor of the bill.  Environmentalists as well, obviously.  But, as we saw with how medical industries took down Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones‘s bill two years ago, forcing it to go to a referendum this November, energy companies have donated heavily to key Senators including those named above.  Most likely three to five of them will have to be willing to vote against their contributors.

If you have an opinion, the Sacramento phone number for Correa’s office is above.  We don’t know when the vote will be — so call early.  It will be close.

Meanwhile, here’s some pretty pictures from California Food and Water Watch.  The news on the GMO labeling bill is below them.

California Earthquake Fracking Map

See that big red smear in the bottom right in the coastal plain? I live there!

Olinda sign with tower in background

And meet the newest elementary school in my district, complete with adjacent drilling tower!

In other news, the GMO labeling bill OJB featured earlies this week failed on a 16-16 vote with five Senators abstaining — including Lou Correa.  It needed 21 votes to pass.

About Greg Diamond

Somewhat verbose attorney, semi-disabled and semi-retired, residing in northwest Brea. Occasionally ran for office against jerks who otherwise would have gonr unopposed. Got 45% of the vote against Bob Huff for State Senate in 2012; Josh Newman then won the seat in 2016. In 2014 became the first attorney to challenge OCDA Tony Rackauckas since 2002; Todd Spitzer then won that seat in 2018. Every time he's run against some rotten incumbent, the *next* person to challenge them wins! He's OK with that. Corrupt party hacks hate him. He's OK with that too. He does advise some local campaigns informally and (so far) without compensation. (If that last bit changes, he will declare the interest.) His daughter is a professional campaign treasurer. He doesn't usually know whom she and her firm represent. Whether they do so never influences his endorsements or coverage. (He does have his own strong opinions.) But when he does check campaign finance forms, he is often happily surprised to learn that good candidates he respects often DO hire her firm. (Maybe bad ones are scared off by his relationship with her, but they needn't be.)