Lt. Gov. nominee could cast vote on new oil-drilling off Calif. coast

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

California state Sen. Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) listens to arguments during a session of the state Senate February 17, 2009 in Sacramento, California.

Democrat John Garamendi vacated his seat as California’s lieutenant governor when voters elected him to Congress last year. Today, the governor’s nomination for Garamendi’s replacement cleared a first hurdle when a senate rules committee approved his nomination. KPCC’s Julie Small reports that Governor Schwarzenegger’s pick for that job — Republican Senator Abel Maldonado — could play a key role in the approval of an oil drilling plan off the Santa Barbara coast.

California’s lieutenant governor sits on the state’s land commission — a body that has blocked a plan for new offshore oil drilling inside the 3-mile limit. Gov. Schwarzenegger wants to allow more offshore drilling in the Tranquillon Ridge to bring in about $250 million in revenues.

State Senator Abel Maldonado — whose district stretches from Carmel to Santa Barbara — voted against a similar plan last year.

Before his confirmation hearing, Maldonado said will continue to oppose the plan for more offshore drilling as lieutenant governor.

"The proposal does not provide the sufficient guarantees from the federal government that the platforms will be removed" Maldonado explained. "I’m also concerned about the lack of transparency related to the project."

Senator Maldonado said without those changes to the oil drilling plan he will continue to oppose it.