WHEREAS, California’s iconic coastal and marine waters are one of our state’s most precious resources and, as elected officials, it is our duty to ensure the long-term viability of California’s coastal and ocean ecosystems, climate, wildlife, and thriving multibillion dollar fishing, tourism, and recreation sectors; and

WHEREAS, The United States Department of the Interior’s draft proposed 2026–2031 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program would permit 34 potential offshore lease sales across 1.27 billion acres of federal waters, including 6 new leases across northern, central, and southern California in areas where there have not been any newly executed leases for offshore oil and gas development since the Reagan administration; and

WHEREAS, The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is not preparing a programmatic environmental impact statement nor thoroughly considering the environmental impacts of this action in the preparation of the 2026–2031 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program; and

WHEREAS, There have been no new offshore oil and gas leases issued in state waters since the 1969 blowout of a well in federal waters that dumped an estimated 3,000,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean near the County of Santa Barbara coastline, devastating wildlife, marine ecosystems, and tourism, and igniting the modern-day environmental movement in the process; and

WHEREAS, Major spills have continued to occur along the California coast, including the 2015 Refugio oil spill, which spilled approximately 140,000 gallons of crude oil along the Gaviota Coast and soiled approximately 3,700 acres of wildlife habitat while killing hundreds of marine mammals and birds and closing fisheries and state parks, and the 2021 San Pedro pipeline oil spill, which spilled approximately 25,000 gallons of crude oil off the coast of the City of Huntington Beach, soiled approximately 900 acres of wildlife habitat, impacted 13 protected areas, caused fishing closures, and affected numerous species, including the federally protected western snowy plover; and

WHEREAS, Beginning in 1921, and many times since, the California Legislature has enacted laws that withdrew certain offshore areas from oil and gas leasing, and by 1989, the state’s offshore oil and gas leasing moratorium was in place; and

WHEREAS, In 1994, the California Legislature enacted Assembly Bill 2444 (Chapter 970 of the Statutes of 1994) that made findings that offshore oil and gas production in certain areas of the state’s waters poses an unacceptably high risk of damage and disruption to the marine environment; and

WHEREAS, In the same bill, the Legislature enacted the California Coastal Sanctuary Act of 1994, which included all of the state’s unleased waters subject to tidal influence and prohibited new oil and gas leases in the sanctuary, unless the President of the United States, the Governor of California, and the California Legislature took further action to authorize that extraction; and

WHEREAS, In 2018, California enacted Senate Bill 834 (Chapter 309 of the Statutes of 2018) and Assembly Bill 1775 (Chapter 310 of the Statutes of 2018) to prohibit the State Lands Commission from entering into any new lease or other conveyance authorizing new construction of oil- and gas-related infrastructure on tidelands and submerged lands within state waters associated with Pacific Outer Continental Shelf leases issued after January 1, 2018; and

WHEREAS, In 2024, California enacted Senate Bill 704 (Chapter 292 of the Statutes of 2023) to amend the California Coastal Act of 1976 to ensure that any future attempts to expand offshore oil drilling off the state’s coast must fully comply with all enforceable policies of the California Coastal Act of 1976; and

WHEREAS, Twenty-seven municipalities in California adopted local ordinances that prohibit or require a vote of the people to approve zoning changes for onshore facilities that support offshore oil and gas development; and

WHEREAS, At least 100 municipalities across California have adopted local resolutions opposing any expansion of offshore oil and gas drilling; and

WHEREAS, The existing offshore oil platforms in federal waters off the California coast have reached or are reaching the end of their productive lives, averaging over 46 years in age with one almost 60 years old, about one-third serve expired leases, and offshore oil production is relatively expensive compared to production on land, reducing its economic viability, particularly as the state moves toward clean energy solutions; and

WHEREAS, In December 2023, the United States Department of the Interior published its final 2024–2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which did not include any offshore oil and gas lease sales on the Pacific shelf; and

WHEREAS, On January 6, 2025, President Joseph Biden issued a memorandum to withdraw, among other areas, all of the Pacific planning areas from future oil and gas leasing pursuant to Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA; 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1341(a)), to ensure the region can remain healthy and safe from the risk of oil spills resulting from development that would do little, if anything, to meet the nation’s energy needs; and

WHEREAS, Consistent with the mission of the United States military to protect the American people and our homeland, waters off the California coast host a significant number of military installations, key logistics routes, and special use airspace. Offshore oil and gas development and associated spills in areas where our servicemembers routinely operate would impede critical training, testing, and other military readiness efforts compromising national security; and

WHEREAS, According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 2021, a healthy, clean, and biodiverse ocean supports more than 350,000 jobs, paying over $12 billion in wages, and generating almost $26 billion in annual economic activity through fishing, tourism, and recreation along California’s coast. Expanding drilling would threaten the industries that sustain our coastal communities while providing minimal economic benefit in return; and

WHEREAS, The Legislature has led the nation with its landmark climate change legislation, ambitiously requiring that statewide greenhouse gas emissions be reduced to at least 85 percent below their 1990 level by 2045, achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045, achieve a renewables portfolio standard of 100 percent by 2045, and conserve 30 percent of California’s lands and coastal waters by 2030. California must lead the nation in fostering the transition away from offshore fossil fuel production to protect both our climate and oceans from the damaging impacts of climate change, which will affect all life on earth for generations to come; and

WHEREAS, Members of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives representing California have, over successive Congresses into this Congress, introduced bills to permanently protect California’s coasts from oil and gas leasing disposition and new drilling with our support; now, therefore, be it