SACRAMENTO, CA — Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay) made the following statement in response to the opening of today's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) first-ever auction of five Pacific Ocean lease areas (including 3 locations directly off the central coast):
"While the sale of these leases is a critical and transformative step to providing clean energy to California, the development of offshore wind off the central coast will impact our communities in ways we can't fully appreciate today. In the coming years, state and regional policymakers must seriously examine how offshore wind farms affect what makes the coast great — our fisheries, public beaches, native lands and our economy, including tourism. There is no doubt that, if done right, offshore wind will be a great benefit to California's push for 100 percent clean energy and to our economy. My focus will be on ensuring that our coastal communities have a voice in the process and share in those benefits."
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) lease sale began this morning for five areas on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) off central and northern California — three off San Luis Obispo County and two off the coast of Humboldt County. The winner of each lease area will be announced here.
Addis is the principal co-author — with Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur (D-West Hollywood) and Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) — of Assembly Bill 3, which states the Legislature’s intent to clarify which state entities will impact offshore wind projects and to ensure community participation and environmental protection of lands adjacent to offshore wind projects.
Dawn Addis was elected to the California State Assembly in 2022 to represent the 30th Assembly District. Dawn is a special education teacher who began teaching in public schools over 20 years ago, and holds a Master of Arts (MA) degree in special education from San Francisco State University. She has teaching credentials in elementary education, secondary education and special education and is fluent in Spanish. Dawn's long record of community involvement includes co-founding the Women's March in San Luis Obispo and being a Planned Parenthood Central Coast Action Fund board member. In 2018, she won her first elected office, Morro Bay City Council, and served from 2018 to 2022. Dawn is the first Democrat to represent the majority of San Luis Obispo County in the State Assembly since 1947. She is also the first Democrat from San Luis Obispo County to serve in the State Assembly since 1922 and the first Democratic woman ever to hold this seat. Dawn and her husband Marcus have raised two children on the Central Coast and they have one rescue cat named Oppenheimer.
CONTACT: Jim Evans, 916-319-2030