It looks like 2023 could already be a record year for oil and gas spending on lobbying in California even without the fourth quarter expenses in.
The total oil and gas money spent on lobbying for the first three quarters of 2023 is $21,973,138 at this time, according to data posted on the California Secretary of State’s website: cal-access.sos.ca.gov/…
This figure already tops the total oil and gas industry lobbying expenses for 2023 — $18,000,000. The results for the fourth quarter and the total for 2023 won’t become available until January 31, 2024.
Lobbying disclosures from Quarter 3 representing lobbying between July 1 - September 30, 2023 reveal that oil companies and trade associations spent more than $7.2 million on influence-related activities in an all out effort to kill California climate bills and hold Big Oil accountable, according to data compiled by the Climate Center.
The San Ramon-based oil giant Chevron, topped the fossil fuel industry expenses with a total of $3,866,296 spent in the third quarter.
The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), the most powerful corporate lobbying group in California, spent $1,381,995 lobbying the Legislature and other state officials in 2023's third quarter.
For the top three lobbying spenders, Chevron, the Western States Petroleum Association, and Aera Energy – who far outspent all others – their filings depict opposition to a number of key pieces of climate and energy related legislation, including SBX 1-2 implementation, AB 1167, SB 252, SB 253, SB 261, as well as numerous other bills.
“These bills would all hold the oil industry accountable in various ways – either through transparency, financially, or both – and in the case of SB 252 would have called on the state’s public pension funds to divest from fossil fuels. Among them, only SB 252 failed to pass,” according to the Climate Center.
On the national level, the fossil fuel industry has been also spending tens of millions of dollars to defeat climate bills and other legislation. The oil and gas lobby in the U.S. has spent $92,757,722 in 2023 to date on lobbying federal legislators and officials, according to Open Secrets: www.opensecrets.org/…