T. Boone Pickens Dumps Nearly $19 Million into Yes on 10 Campaign
Reports filed last week with the California Secretary of State’s office offer further proof that Proposition 10 is nothing more than a shrewd business investment by Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens. According to state records, Clean Energy Fuels Corporation has now pumped nearly $19 million into the Prop 10 campaign coffers.
T. Boone Pickens owns Clean Energy Fuels Corporation (formerly Pickens Fuel). Clean Energy Fuels Corp. wrote Proposition 10. It dominates the natural gas vehicle fueling station business.
“Clean Energy Fuels is a small company that loses money every year. How can it afford to lavish $19 million on a ballot measure?” asked Richard Holober, Executive Director of the Consumer Federation of California. “The answer is simple: Instead of investing in research and development, Mr. Pickens’ Clean Energy is investing in buying an election. This massive political spending by a small company is proof that passage of Proposition 10 would be a bonanza for Mr. Pickens.”
The central program in Prop 10 is a $2.5 billion giveaway to trucking companies to subsidize purchases of natural gas-fueled trucks. Trucks that qualify for rebates under Prop 10 are permitted to emit air pollution at levels identical to petroleum or diesel-fueled trucks. It is estimated that Prop 10 will increase natural gas vehicle sales in California by 500%. Most trucks subsidized by Prop 10 will fill up at Mr. Pickens’ gas stations.
Environmental groups including the California League of Conservation Voters, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Environment California have urged voters to Vote No on Proposition 10. Over 30 daily newspapers have editorialized against Prop 10.
Prop 10 has not earned the endorsement of a single newspaper editorial board, and is opposed by a broad based coalition of environmental, consumer, business, taxpayer, labor and civic organizations, including: the League of Women Voters, the California Chamber of Commerce, the California Labor Federation, the California Federation of Teachers, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the Latino Issues Forum, the California Farm Bureau Federation and the California Manufacturers and Technology Association among many others.
