On Feb. 5, the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), the largest and most powerful corporate lobbying group in Sacramento, announced that President and CEO Catherine Reheis-Boyd will step down from the organization at the end of 2025.
Reheis-Boyd formally notified the organization’s board of directors of her planned departure after 35 years working for the organization that has promoted the oil industry’s agenda in the states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.
“I am deeply grateful for my time representing WSPA, our member companies and an industry that that provides affordable, reliable and ever cleaner energy to the communities we all serve,” said Reheis-Boyd. “I remain fully committed to fulfilling the mission of WSPA throughout the duration of my tenure, ensuring a smooth transition to new leadership. It has been my honor to lead a talented, driven and passionate group of individuals throughout my 35 years with this organization and it is my highest priority to ensure that as we move forward, we continue to meet our mission head-on.”
“At year’s end, I look forward to discovering what is next, using my experience to continue supporting the oil and gas industry and its pivotal role in driving economic success for our state and nation.”
WSPA Board Chair Mike Vomund, Vice President, Chevron Products, Fuels, gushed, “Cathy has served WSPA admirably for 35 years, taking the organization to new heights and relentlessly advocating for the industry for 45 years. We will miss her steady hand, vision and commitment to excellence. We are deeply appreciative of Cathy’s leadership to the WSPA states we serve. Cathy leaves WSPA in an extraordinary place with an incredible team that has the strategic capacity to meet our goals and continues to represent the industry with integrity and excellence.”
WSPA said its Board of Directors will immediately establish a “board-led search process using an external firm to conduct a national search.”
In addition to her position with WSPA, Reheis-Boyd served as the Chair of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative Blue Ribbon Task Force to create “marine protected areas” in Southern California from 2009 to 2012 at the same time as the oil industry was pushing for increased offshore drilling in the same region.
She also served on the MLPA Initiative Task Forces for the Central Coast, North Central Coast and North Coast from 2004 to 2012. A coalition of recreational and commercial fishermen, grassroots environmentalists, Tribal leaders and public trust advocates opposed her appointment to serve on the task forces, accusing her of a conflict of interest between her role as a Big Oil lobbyist and role as a “marine guardian.”
WSPA and Chevron spent record money on lobbying in 2024
Reheis-Boyd announced her departure after a year when the Western States Petroleum Association and oil and gas companies spent record amounts of money fighting California’s environmental justice and climate policies.
Lobbying and influence spending disclosures on the California Secretary of State’s website reveal that the oil industry spent $38 million in 2024, shattering the annual state lobbying record of $26.2 million set in 2017, according to an analysis by the Last Chance Alliance.
Spending by two groups alone, Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) and Chevron, broke the previous record, coming in at $31.6 million in 2024. WSPA and Chevron accounted for 83% of the industry’s expenditure.
The top five 2024 Big Oil influence spenders can be seen below.
| Western States Petroleum Association |
$17.4 million |
| Chevron |
$14.2 million |
| CRC / Aera Energy |
$2.1 million |
| Marathon Petroleum |
$1.5 million |
| Phillips 66 |
$876,563 |
Big Oil also broke its two-year legislative session record as well, spending $65.8 million during the 2023-2024 legislative session. This far exceeds the $44.1 million spent during the 2017-2018 session.
In the fourth quarter of 2024, Big Oil spent $6.6 million attempting to shape statewide policy measures.
“During the fourth quarter, Chevron disclosed influence spending contributions of nearly $426,000 alone to the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), as well as another over $231,000 to the front group Californians for Energy Independence, and over $77,000 to a Washington, DC-based PR firm named DDC Public Affairs that is notorious for its creation of industry front groups and deception campaigns,” according to the Alliance.
“WSPA, for its part, paid over $19,500 to the notorious Chevron-tied law firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher currently defending a handful of its Big Oil member companies in the landmark climate deception lawsuit filed against them by Attorney General Rob Bonta in 2023. It also forked over $33,000 to the legal administrator of its front groups, the Bay Area law firm Nielsen Merksamer,” the group reported.
“Direct lobbying remained a cornerstone of Big Oil’s strategy in Sacramento. They concentrated heavily in 2024 on blocking the Make Polluters Pay legislative package, targeting bills like AB 1866 (idle wells reform), AB 2716(reforms for low-producing wells), and AB 3233 (reaffirming localities’ authority to regulate or ban oil drilling)—all of which were ultimately signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom,” the Alliance wrote.
The Polluters Pay Climate Cost Recovery Act, AB 1497, also did not pass in 2024, due to heavy lobbying by WSPA and Big Oil corporations. Climate justice advocates, responding to California’s historic wildfires, have called for similar legislation to be introduced in 2025 building off the momentum amassed after New York passed climate superfund legislation at the end of 2024, according to the Alliance.
WSPA and Big Oil wield their power in 8 major ways: through (1) lobbying; (2) campaign spending; (3) serving on and putting shills on regulatory panels; (4) creating Astroturf groups; (5) working in collaboration with media; (6) creating alliances with labor unions; (7) contributing to non profit organizations; and (8) sponsoring awards ceremonies, including those for legislators and journalists.
WSPA and Big Oil have for years worked closely with media outlets and more recently have sponsored awards for legislators and journalists. For example, the Western States Petroleum Association was one of the “lede sponsors” of the Sacramento Press Club’s Annual Journalism Awards for the past two years.
Over 17,000 oil drilling permits issued in CA since Jan. 2019
During the Schwarzenegger, Brown and Newsom administrations as Reheis-Boyd and Big Oil lobbied against climate and environmental justice legislation, California oil regulators issued tens of thousands of new and reworked oil drilling permits.
Fortunately, approvals for new oil well drilling permits in California fell to 73 in 2024 from 2,664 in 2019 when Governor Newsom took office.
However, 2024 ended with oil regulators “dropping the ball” on requiring adequate amounts of bonding to protect taxpayers from plugging and cleanup in a massive oil acquisition deal, Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker Alliance revealed in a press release: www.dailykos.com/...
“Instead, regulators halved the bonding requirement for the California Resources Corp. (CRC) acquisition of Aera Energy to $30 million for one “shared liability” bond instead of considering two bonds totaling a maximum $60 million, via a legal loophole, even though ProPublica reports Aera’s well plugging costs start at $1.1 billion,” the groups wrote.
The total number of new and reworked oil drilling permits issued by CalGEM, the state’s oil and gas regulator, since Jan. 2019 comes to 17,330.
Background about WSPA from their website: www.wspa.org/...
“Founded in 1907, the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) is the oldest petroleum trade association in the United States and a leader in shaping an ever-evolving energy sector. WSPA represents a dynamic membership of companies that are at the forefront of petroleum exploration, production, refining, and transportation, as well as renewable energy, carbon management solutions, and other technological innovations shaping our energy future. Serving Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, WSPA aims to ensure that Americans have reliable and affordable access to petroleum and other energy sources by supporting policies that consider social, economic, and environmental factors.”
