On Wednesday, August 14th, 2024 the Richmond City Council voted unanimously to approve a tax settlement in which the Chevron Corporation will pay the City of Richmond more than a half BILLION dollars over the next ten years.
I was proud to have been appointed to the ad hoc committee with Mayor Martinez and Vice Mayor Jimenez to negotiate this monumental settlement and even prouder to vote in favor of it when it came in front of the full council this past Wednesday, August 14th, 2024.
What happened?
The Polluters Pay tax measure, which I supported, would have required the Chevron Corporation to pay $1 per barrel of any refined materials produced at the Richmond Chevron refinery for the next 50 years. I voted in favor of this measure because I believe that all businesses in Richmond, especially those that negatively impact our residents’ quality of life, should pay their fair share of taxes. The estimated $60 – $90 million a year in tax revenue seemed like a long overdue tax bill that Chevron should and could pay.
I strongly believe that this tax measure would have been passed by the voters in the November 2024 election. I also believe that Chevron believed voters would pass it.
So why settle?
I finally changed my position and felt it would be best for our city and the lives of the very real people who live in Richmond to settle because of the moment we are currently in when it comes to our courts. Recently we have seen devastating court judgements striking down foundational environmental laws and finding in favor of corporations at the expense of the families and individuals who are at their mercy.
We also know that Chevron has a long history across the globe of using the courts to evade their corporate responsibility in terms of taxes and the environmental impacts. We know from that history if they lose at the ballot box, they absolutely will tie the will of the voters up in pro corporate, anti environment courts for years, sometimes decades, and cost jurisdictions, like Richmond, millions of dollars each year in legal fees to defend their ballot wins.
The City of Carson California is a prime example. Their voters approved a very similar tax measure in 2017, and to this day, 7 years later, they have not been able to use a dime of the taxes collected due to ongoing legal battles that are still only in their early phases. With so many needs in Richmond for increased revenue, no legal defense fund to wage a long term legal battle and after being able to negotiate a settlement amount of over a half BILLION dollars over 10 years, I felt it would be irresponsible not to vote in favor of this settlement.
Giving thanks to Climate Justice and Environmental Justice Movement in Richmond
It is clear to me that we have arrived at this moment only because of years of community organizing, planning and careful crafting of this strong tax measure by the staff members, organizers and members of APEN, APEN Action, CBE, CBE Action and all of the organizations (including SEIU) who signed on in support of the measure as well as all of the community members who were eager to vote for it.
For over 100 years Chevron has used litigation and political influence to evade paying its fair share of taxes and avoid responsibility for its environmental impacts. Although many tried, No City Council has been able to get the Chevron Corporation to the table and arrive at a substantial settlement.
The City of Richmond must thank the brilliant and courageous activism of these environmental groups who have finally forced Chevron Corporation to the table and made this settlement possible.
I also want to thank Mayor Martinez and Vice Mayor Jimenez who served on the ad hoc committee with me. It was an honor to work together with you under the extreme pressures of very tough negotiations and to witness first hand your willingness to honestly engage, carefully consider, and at the right times courageously hold stances that kept negotiations moving in the right direction.
I also want to thank the City Attorney and city staff members who worked through the night on many occasions and during vacations to support this whole process.
In the end, we finally secured the resources Richmond needs and deserves.
What’s next?
By signing this deal, the city will get over half a billion dollars. Starting in July 2025, Chevron will pay the city $50 million dollars a year for the first 5 years and then $60 million dollars for the next five years.
This money will help us improve important city services, parks and facility maintenance, increase funding for children and youth programs, advance housing and economic initiatives, and support projects that make Richmond more environmentally sustainable.
I will also support efforts to conduct a community process regarding the use of these funds and feel strongly that we must also set aside some of these funds to invest in Just Transition, which is our economic and environmental future.
We must be practical visionaries willing to work hard to diversify the city’s sources of revenue and invest in Richmond’s economy so we are less dependent on the fossil fuel industry as a whole in anticipation of a future in which the state of California continues along its path away from the use of fossil fuels.
During this transition, let us not find ourselves ill-prepared, in crisis, and without a plan, like in Detroit at the dramatic and sudden decline of the American auto industry, or in Tennessee when the coal market crashed. Let us use these funds to create the future we need. Let’s start planning and moving towards this future today.
Doria Robinson, Richmond Council Member, District 3
Sunday, August 18, 2024
Read more:
- California city pulls Chevron tax measure from the ballot – E&E News by POLITICO
- Chevron settles with Richmond for $550M, tax measure removed from ballot – NBC Bay Area
- Richmond agrees to $550M Chevron settlement, will pull tax ballot measure – San Francisco Chronicle
- Richmond Drops Bid for Refinery Tax in $550 Million Deal With Chevron |- KQED
- Deal between city and Chevron erases budget deficit, puts $550 million into general fund – Richmond Confidential
- Richmond pulls Chevron tax measure from the ballot – POLITICO Pro