Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a joint resolution that establishes the Legislature's opposition to the proposed expansion of oil and gas drilling off the Pacific Coast and requests the U.S. Congress reinstate the federal offshore oil and gas leasing moratorium for fiscal year 2009-2010 and beyond.

Highlights:

-Specifies that the Department of the Interior proposed opening up six million acres off California's coast to drilling for oil and natural gas on January 16, 2009, and while the Obama Administration has put a hold on this plan, the expansion of oil development areas previously protected by the outer continental shelf moratorium remain under consideration. -Specifies that the California Coastal Sanctuary Act of 1994 established a comprehensive statewide coastal sanctuary that prohibits future oil and gas leasing in state waters, from Mexico to the Oregon border. -Specifies that California's ocean waters are home to four important sanctuaries and are, by definition, areas of special conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, cultural, archaeological, scientific, educational, and aesthetic qualities. -Alleges that expansion of oil and gas drilling in these areas will degrade the quality of the air and water and adversely impact the marine resources, including seismic surveys that could adversely impact marine mammals, including endangered species such as the blue and humpback whale. -Alleges that expansion of oil and gas drilling in these areas poses a serious risk of oil spills, especially with the introduction of deepwater drilling technologies and floating oil storage and processing vessels. -Alleges that expansion of oil and gas drilling will create land use conflicts, denigrate the coastal areas, and pose potentially life-threatening public safety risks as a result of the industrialization of the shoreline.

Full Bill Text