A North Coast lawmaker's latest attempt to get a tax on oil extraction in California appears to be coming up dry again.
The Senate Appropriations Committee on Monday moved SB 1017, authored by Noreen Evans, D-Santa Rosa, into the suspense file, which is where bills often die.
Another ominous indicator: Gov. Jerry Brown last week reiterating that he does not support raising taxes this year.
"No. No. That's not where I'm at," Brown said to a reporter who asked the governor about legislative Democrats who are clamoring for more taxes, including an oil severance tax, to help fund state initiatives.
Evans is proposing a 9.5 percent levy, called a severance tax, on the extraction of oil in California, which the senator estimates will generate about $2 billion annually. That estimate is based on the average price of $100 for a barrel of crude oil.
The tax revenue would go into an endowment fund, with half allocated to the state's three higher-education systems, and the rest divided equally between the California parks system and health and human services programs.
SB 1017 appears headed in the same direction as Evans' previous attempts at getting an oil extraction tax in California. But she and other supporters of the tax on Monday did not concede defeat.
"I always have hope," Evans said. "I honestly don't know what else to say. I wouldn't have introduced it this year if I didn't think there was a chance."
"It ain't over yet," said Harrison "Jack" Tibbetts, a Montgomery High School graduate and senior at UC Berkeley who is leading a statewide coalition pushing for the tax.
Tibbetts on Monday was lining up supporters of SB 1017 to call the offices of Sen. Kevin de Le?, chairman of the appropriations committee, to urge the Los Angeles Democrat to move the bill out of the suspense file and put it to a vote on the Senate floor.
Still, Tibbetts conceded having doubts about the bill's ultimate fate should it make it out of committee given that senate Democrats lost their two-thirds majority as a result of recent scandals involving two senators, who are on paid leave. The bill requires a two-thirds majority for passage.
Proponents of an oil tax say the battle is likely headed to the ballot box.
Tom Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund investor turned environmentalist and political activist, earlier this month released results of a poll he commissioned showing that 81 percent of Californians support such a tax.
"If he does decide to run with it, you'll find me hitting the pavement at Old Courthouse Square (in Santa Rosa) collecting signatures," Tibbetts said.
Evans testified Monday during the committee hearing that the state is "at the point where we are no longer educating an entire generation of Californians."
She reiterated her position that imposing the severance tax would not curb oil production in the state or lead to higher prices at the pump.
"I don't think there should be any rational debate about whether this is the right to do," Evans said.
Representatives of California's oil industry again expressed opposition to the effort, saying the industry already pays its fair share of taxes.
The oil industry claims it already pays about $6 billion annually in corporate, property and other taxes, as well as fees to fund state regulation. That's aside from royalty payments to the state, which total about $500 million annually.
"Adding on to other taxes would put California above all other states," said Eloy Garcia, a lobbyist for the Western States Petroleum Association.
You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.
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