Prop 23 Enemies Outspending Its Supporters
Proposition 23, which would overturn California's 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, is being outspent nearly two to one by its environmentalist enemies.
Details on who is spending how much, and why, in the fight over Prop 23 from the L.A. Times:
California clean technology companies, national environmental groups and wealthy conservationists are pouring money into a campaign to defeat Proposition 23, a November ballot initiative that would suspend the state's global warming law.As of Thursday, opponents of Proposition 23 had raised $19.6 million, more than twice as much as supporters of the initiative, which is mainly funded by major oil refiners based in Texas, Kansas and Ohio.
Will the oil companies come in with a huge money push at the last minute? They won't say:
Bill Day, a spokesman for San-Antonio-based Valero Energy Corp., which has contributed $4 million of the $9 million raised for the Yes on 23 campaign, said, " Valero has not made any decisions at this point about additional financial support to the Prop. 23 campaign."In addition to Valero, which operates refineries in Wilmington and Benicia, donors include Texas-based Tesoro Co. ($1.5 million) and Kansas-based Koch Industries ($1 million), which is also a major supporter of the tea party movement. Only one significant contribution has been made in the past month: $500,000 from Ohio based Marathon Petroleum Co.
Gov. Schwarzenegger is firmly against Prop 23, and hosted a million-dollar fundraiser to defeat it. Neither gubernatorial candidate is for it either, though Republican Meg Whitman might temporarily stay the application of the anti-global warming measures.
The measures that will be overturned by Prop 23, until the state's unemployment rate falls back below 5.5 percent, would "force utilities to get a third of their electricity from renewable sources, improve the efficiency of automobiles and buildings and cap emissions from industrial plants."
Official details on all the spending for and against Prop 23. The proposition's actual language. The official arguments for and against it.
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