Recently, I joined my fellow Assembly Republicans in sending a letter to Governor Gray Davis, asking him to call a special session immediately to address the natural gas crisis. The Governor has refused this request. I wrote a second letter on March 13th, asking Governor Davis to use his Emergency powers to speed up the permitting process for a pipeline expansion project in the middle of our desert district at Daggett.
Natural gas is as essential to Californian businesses, schools and families as electricity.
Consequently, if we don't address the shortage now, we'll find ourselves with more frequent blackouts and even higher natural gas prices in the future. The Kern River Gas Transmission Company is proposing to increase the capacity of its present pipeline and be positioned to deliver additional natural gas supplies to California by summer of this year. This clean natural gas will be available for crucially needed electric power production this summer and will play an important role in providing our State the necessary energy to meet our future needs. The Daggett natural gas pipeline presently delivers over 700 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. The Governor must act now to prevent crippling our state's economy any further through inaction.