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Billionaire Koch brothers back suspension of California climate law
A company owned by oil billionaires Charles and David Koch has contributed $1 million to Proposition 23, a November ballot initiative to suspend California's groundbreaking 2006 global-warming law.
The contribution came from Flint Hills Resources LP, based in Wichita, Kan., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch Industries, the nation's second-largest private company, with estimated annual revenue of $100 billion. It was posted online Thursday by the California secretary of state.
Prop. 23 was launched by two Texas-based refiners, Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp. which have been its primary funders. The involvement of the Koch brothers signals that the California initiative is likely to become the focus of a national campaign, now that climate change legislation has stalled in Congress.
The Koch brothers (pronounced "Coke"), who operate oil refineries in Alaska, Texas and Minnesota, have sponsored a web of groups involved in campaigns to deny the significance of climate change and the need for renewable energy. Koch-funded groups have trained and organized "tea party" activists across the country.