Bill to Tax Oil Companies to Fund Education

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCBS)  -- A measure that would tax oil and gas companies in California will get a hearing with an assembly taxation committee Monday afternoon.

Assemblyman Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, authored the bill that calls for taxing oil and natural gas drawn in California and devoting the money to higher education, including community colleges. The money the tax would generate is estimated to be about a billion dollars a year.

The future of the bill is uncertain. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a similar bill last year and opponents contend the bill would cost hundreds of jobs in the oil and gas industry.

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