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Former President Clinton speaks to UCLA crowd about oil tax

The Associated Press | Friday, Oct 13 2006 1:15 PM

Last Updated: Friday, Oct 13 2006 1:15 PM

Former President Bill Clinton was cheered Friday as he spoke to a university crowd in support of a California ballot measure that would tax oil to fund alternative energy research.

Clinton called Proposition 87 "California's way to energy independence."

The measure would tax companies drilling for oil in California until it has generated $4 billion. The money would be set aside for loans, grants and subsidies to promote alternative fuels and more energy-efficient vehicles.

"To save the planet, improve our national security and create the next generation of good jobs for the American people - that's what Prop 87 represents to me,' Clinton said at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Oil pumped in California accounted for 37 percent of the state's demand in 2005, according to the state Legislative Analyst's Office. Twenty-one percent of the state's oil comes from Alaska, while the rest is imported from abroad. The initiative would tax oil California producers between 1.5 percent and 6 percent depending on the per-barrel price of oil.

Opponents say oil companies that do business in California pay the fifth-highest taxes in the country, and adding another tax would deter them from pumping California oil and eventually lead to higher gas prices.