Governor Jerry Brown has signed legislation by a South Coast lawmaker to try to block new offshore oil drilling in federal waters off the California coast.
The state Senate last month sent the governor the bill that would ban docks, pipelines or other onshore infrastructure needed to support new offshore drilling rigs. He signed it into law on Saturday.
Democratic State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson of Santa Barbara introduced the legislation after President Trump's administration announced plans to allow oil and gas drilling off most of the nation's coastline. California can't directly block drilling in waters controlled by the federal government but hopes to the restrictions on coastal access through state waters will make it impractical.