Local Electeds, Groups Urge Democratic Leaders to Block Big Oil Immunity During Lame Duck

Nearly 400 state and local elected officials from 30 states and the District of Columbia and more than 500 groups are urging Democratic leaders in the House and Senate to fight any effort during the lame duck session to shield fossil fuel companies from climate accountability laws and lawsuits.

“We’re urging you to protect our right to hold Big Oil accountable and reject any proposal that would shield fossil fuel companies from the legal and legislative efforts communities across the country are advancing to make polluters pay for the damage their climate lies and pollution has caused,” the officials said in a letter sent yesterday to the offices of Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries.

The letters were delivered as part of the national “No Immunity for Big Oil” campaign as House and Senate Republicans are pushing bills that would give fossil fuel companies sweeping immunity from laws and lawsuits seeking to hold them accountable for their role in the climate crisis. The House bill failed to pass out of the House Judiciary Committee in September.

Ten U.S. governors, 21 state attorneys general and local officials, and the National Association of Counties have also voiced their opposition. House Judiciary Democrats, in a statement from Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD), have pledged to “defeat” the measures, which Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and a growing number of Democrats have publicly opposed.

Iyla Shornstein, political director of the Center for Climate Integrity, released the following statement:

"Americans just made clear they want accountability and an end to corruption — not corporate impunity. This is a crucial moment for leaders in Congress and statehouses to stand up and fight back against the fossil fuel industry's efforts to put themselves above the law.”

As the window to immunize Big Oil at the federal level narrows, the fossil fuel industry and its allies have been pushing state legislatures to shield oil and gas companies from accountability. The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is pushing model bills that would take away peoples’ right to file lawsuits against oil giants, and ban cities and counties from passing laws aimed at making Big Oil pay its fair share of the growing costs of climate change. Similar bills passed in Utah, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Iowa earlier this year. An investigation by ProPublica found that the effort is being aided by right wing groups tied to prominent conservative activist Leonard Leo.

A recent poll found that 75% of likely voters, including 67% of Republicans, oppose providing oil and gas companies with legal immunity from climate damages.