Sabrina Lockhart
Here is an election night story you might have missed.
Last night voters in La Habra Heights, on the perimeter of Los Angeles County, overwhelmingly struck down an energy production ban with 60% of voters opposing Measure A.
Proponents touted Measure A as a fracking ban.
But the far-reaching initiative would have included other traditional oil production techniques.
Last night’s vote builds upon the failure by comparable margins of another strikingly similar energy ban in Santa Barbara County this past November.
Hydraulic fracturing bans are passing where there is limited or no oil production, but voters are defeating bans where production has occurred for decades because:
1) They recognize the local economic benefits of regulated oil production and understand how local services will be at risk if tax revenues decline due to less production.
2) They realize that taxpayers will be forced to pay for expensive litigation.
3) They understand that these proposed energy bans go beyond fracking.
The city’s independent analysis of Measure A said:
The measure could result in annual loss of $370,000 in general fund revenue (13 percent of the general fund) risking the loss of the Paramedic program and further cutbacks in patrol.
The initiative is vulnerable to legal challenge in the areas of pre-emption and vested rights, in which case city taxpayers would bear the cost of very expensive and extensive litigation.
A La Habra Heights City Council member told the Whittier Daily News:
“I’m pleased to see that people didn’t let their emotions take over their vote and looked at the facts of the initiative,” said Councilman Kyle Miller who opposed the measure.
Mr. Miller and other opponents called the measure overly broad and said it could result in the city getting sued for millions of dollars by the oil companies for an unconstitutional taking of their property.
Ms. Lockhart, communications director for Californians for Energy Independence, maybe contacted at sabrina@energyindependenceca.com