Three bills designed to protect the California coast from future oil spills are now law after being signed by Governor Jerry Brown Thursday.
Two were written by State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D- Santa Barbara) and one was written by Assemblymember Das Williams (D-Carpinteria) all in response to May's Refugio pipeline incident.
AB 864 requires pipelines to use the best achievable technology to reduce the amount of oil released during a rupture.
SB 295 and SB 414 require annual oil pipeline inspections by the State Fire Marshal and a new plan to make oil spill response faster and more effective.
On Wednesday, U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein joined senators from Washington and Oregon to introduce a bill in Congress aimed at protecting the West Coast from offshore drilling. The legislation would permanently prohibit offshore drilling on the outer continental shelf.