City Government

Senator Hancock Introduces Bills to Restrict Coal Exports Through Oakland

Published

10 years ago

February 19, 2016

Citing health and environmental threats posed by increased coal shipments in and out of California, Senator Loni Hancock on Friday introduced four proposed laws to restrict exports of the pollution-inducing fuel source.

“I was shocked when I first learned that a development project on the former Oakland Army Base would export millions of tons of coal to China and other countries,” said Hancock during a press release at her district office in downtown Oakland.

“As the state senator for this area, I cannot sit by while the residents of West Oakland face their own Keystone Pipeline. Truth is, the proposed coal depot is so problematic that I believe it warrants a multi-bill response,” said Hancock.

Loni Hancock. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press

Noting that the City of Oakland is debating a large publicly funded project for exporting coal, Hancock (D-Oakland) said she felt compelled to introduce legislation to “close loopholes in the law and ensure that other cities will not face similar problems in the future,” according to a press release from the senator’s office.

Joining Hancock in supporting her bills were environmentalists, labor leaders, community activists and Kevin De León, Senate Pro Tem of the California Senate and author of last year’s measure bill to fight global warming, Senate Bill 350.

“Continuing to invest in coal is a bad bet for Oakland,” De León said in a statement. “We can certainly find better uses of limited public funds than to invest in a dying industry that brings a host of public health and environmental drawbacks.”

Other speakers in support of Hancock’s bills included Derrick Muhammad, a local labor leader and treasurer for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU Local 10), Nate Henderson, an Oakland high school student with the New Voices Are Rising Project of the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment, and Margaret Gordon, a community organizer with the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project.

According to the senator’s press release, “Each cited environmental concerns and a seeming blind eye toward industries that bill themselves as ‘job creators’ with apparent disregard to the impact on the health and well-being of residents, workers and the environment.”

“For a worker who would be handling coal every day, the proposal to bring coal in to Oakland is a drastic and unhealthy situation,” Muhammad said. “Coal export poses substantial dangers to workers at the site and the coal dust that would be produced also poses a serious danger to workers.”

Margaret Gordon said the nine million tons of coal each year that would be brought through Oakland would have a negative impact on the city, the region, the state and the far West.

“Although Sen. Hancock’s bills cannot retroactively fix the situation in Oakland, I am glad that they bring light to the negative impact that coal would have in our lives,” Gordon said.

Hancock said two of her bills specifically take on the proposed terminal in Oakland. The other two add additional restrictions on the transportation of coal through California.

SB 1277 declares that the transportation of coal through West Oakland “would present a clear and present danger to the health and safety of Oakland residents as well as the workers that would handle the coal.” This bill also prohibits the shipment of coal through the Oakland facility, which has been paid, in part for, with state funds.

SB 1278 would require an environmental impact review from any public agency that has authority in approving any portion of a project relating to the shipment of coal through Oakland.

On a state level, SB 1279 would prohibit the use of public funds to build or operate any port that exports coal from California. It also applies to any port near disadvantaged communities.

SB 1280 requires port facilities that ship bulk commodities and receive state funds to prohibit coal shipments or fully mitigate the green-house gas emissions associated with the combustion of the coal.

“The City of Oakland needs to act on its own to prohibit shipping coal and protect the community,” Hancock said, emphasizing that the bills would not work retroactively.

“There is a provision in the development contract that allows the city to consider the health and safety of the surrounding community and the workers. I urge the City Council to use its authority and prohibit coal,” said Hancock.

“Frankly, it’s not acceptable to have the City of Oakland build a large new facility to export coal to places like China where people often must cover their faces or stay inside to avoid breathing dirty air,” she said.

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Related Topics:city council coal Derrick Muhammad ILWU Local 10 Kevin De Leon Loni Hancock Margaret Gordon Oakland Phil Tagami Sen. Loni Hancock WOEIP

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Oakland Post: Week of December 24 – 30, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – December 24 – 30, 2025

Published

5 days ago

December 25, 2025

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

Oakland Council Expands Citywide Security Cameras Despite Major Opposition

In a 7-1 vote in favor of the contract, with only District 3 Councilmember Carroll Fife voting no, the Council agreed to maintain its existing network of 291 cameras and add 40 new “pan-tilt-zoom cameras.”

Published

1 week ago

December 21, 2025

Oakland Post

At the International Association of Chiefs of Police Conference, Flock Safety introduces new public safety technology – Amplified Intelligence, a suite of AI-powered tools designed to improve law enforcement investigations. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland City Council this week approved a $2.25 million contract with Flock Safety for a mass surveillance network of hundreds of security cameras to track vehicles in the city.

In recent weeks hundreds of local residents have spoken against the camera system, raising concerns that data will be shared with immigration authorities and other federal agencies at a time when mass surveillance is growing across the country with little regard for individual rights.

The Flock network, supported by the Oakland Police Department, has the backing of residents and councilmembers who see it as an important tool to protect public safety.

“This system makes the Department more efficient as it allows for information related to disruptive/violent criminal activities to be captured … and allows for precise and focused enforcement,” OPD wrote in its proposal to City Council.

According to OPD, police made 232 arrests using data from Flock cameras between July 2024 and November of this year.

Based on the data, police say they recovered 68 guns, and utilizing the countywide system, they have found 1,100 stolen vehicles.

However, Flock’s cameras cast a wide net. The company’s cameras in Oakland last month captured license plate numbers and other information from about 1.4 million vehicles.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Council meeting, Fife was critical of her colleagues for signing a contract with a company that has been in the national spotlight for sharing data with federal agencies.

Flock’s cameras – which are automated license plate readers – have been used in tracking people who have had abortions, monitoring protesters, and aiding in deportation roundups.

“I don’t know how we get up and have several press conferences talking about how we are supportive of a sanctuary city status but then use a vendor that has been shown to have a direct relationship with (the U.S.) Border Control,” she said. “It doesn’t make sense to me.”

Several councilmembers who voted in favor of the contract said they supported the deal as long as some safeguards were written into the Council’s resolution.

“We’re not aiming for perfection,” said District 1 Councilmember Zac Unger. “This is not Orwellian facial recognition technology — that’s prohibited in Oakland. The road forward here is to add as many amendments as we can.”

Amendments passed by the Council prohibit OPD from sharing camera data with any other agencies for the purpose of “criminalizing reproductive or gender affirming healthcare” or for federal immigration enforcement. California state law also prohibits the sharing of license plate reader data with the federal government, and because Oakland’s sanctuary city status, OPD is not allowed to cooperate with immigration authorities.

A former member of Oakland’s Privacy Advisory Commission has sued OPD, alleging that it has violated its own rules around data sharing.

So far, OPD has shared Flock data with 50 other law enforcement agencies.

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Black Arts Movement Business District Named New Cultural District in California

Located in the heart of District 3, the BAMBD is widely regarded as one of the nation’s most important centers of Black cultural production — a space where artists, entrepreneurs, organizers, and cultural workers have shaped generations of local and national identity. The state’s recognition affirms the district’s historic importance and its future promise.

Published

1 week ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Councilmember Carroll Fife celebrates major milestone for Black arts, culture, and economic power in Oakland. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

Oakland’s Black Arts Movement Business District (BAMBD) has been selected as one of California’s 10 new state-designated Cultural Districts, a distinction awarded by the California Arts Council (CAC), according to a media statement released by Councilmember Carroll Fife.

The BAMBD now joins 23 other districts across the state recognized for their deep cultural legacy, artistic excellence, and contributions to California’s creative economy.

“This designation is a testament to what Black Oakland has built — and what we continue to build when we insist on investing in our own cultural and economic power,” said Fife.

“For years, our community has fought for meaningful recognition and resources for the Black Arts Movement Business District,” she said. “This announcement validates that work and ensures that BAMBD receives the support it needs to grow, thrive, and continue shaping the cultural fabric of California.”

Since taking office, Fife has led and supported multiple initiatives that strengthened the groundwork for this achievement, including:

Restoring and protecting arts and cultural staffing within the City of Oakland.
Creating the West Oakland Community Fund to reinvest in historically excluded communities
Advancing a Black New Deal study to expand economic opportunity for Black Oakland
Ensuring racial equity impact analyses for development proposals, improving access for Black businesses and Black contractors
Introduced legislation and budget amendments that formalized, protected, and expanded the BAMBD

“These efforts weren’t abstract,” Fife said. “They were intentional, coordinated, and rooted in a belief that Black arts and Black businesses deserve deep, sustained public investment.”

As part of the Cultural District designation, BAMBD will receive:

$10,000 over two years
Dedicated technical assistance
Statewide marketing and branding support
Official designation from Jan. 1, 2026, through Dec. 31, 2030

This support will elevate the visibility of BAMBD’s artists, cultural organizations, small businesses, and legacy institutions, while helping attract new investment to the district.

“The BAMBD has always been more than a district,” Fife continued. “This recognition by the State of California gives us another tool in the fight to preserve Black culture, build Black economic power, and protect the families and institutions that make Oakland strong.”

For questions, contact Councilmember Carroll Fife at CFife@oaklandca.gov.