Billionaire Democratic donor Tom Steyer is taking a break from "lambasting oil companies about gasoline prices" to call for new taxes on crude oil extraction, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Steyer is eyeing two potential ballot measures affecting California’s energy industry. One would impose a 10 percent tax on oil extraction. The other would force oil companies to publicly disclose more about their activities.
Wealthy Bay Area environmentalist Tom Steyer, who for weeks has been lambasting oil companies about gasoline prices, said Friday he was exploring another potential cudgel against the industry: ballot measures to tax oil extraction and require more public disclosure on pricing and supply.
Laying the groundwork for a possible ballot battle next year, Steyer said he was attending this weekend’s state Democratic convention in Anaheim to "talk to a bunch of people and see where they put this in their priorities."
Ballot measures would require a "broad coalition" of support to be viable, he said.
Steyer, a former hedge fund manager, declined to say whether he might spend the millions of dollars it would take to get such proposals on the ballot and run a campaign to win voter approval.
