The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Transportation studies have concluded that pipeline transport of oil is generally both economically feasible and environmentally preferable to other forms of crude oil transport.
(b) Oil companies have proposed to build a pipeline to transport offshore crude oil from central California to southern California refineries, and to transport offshore oil to out-of-state refiners.
(c) California refineries would need to be retrofitted if California offshore crude oil were to be used directly as a major feedstock. Refinery modifications may delay achievement of air quality goals in the southern California air basin and other regions of the state.
(d) The County of Santa Barbara has issued an Oil Transportation Plan that assesses the environmental and economic differences among various methods for transporting crude oil from offshore California to refineries.
(e) The Governor should help coordinate decisions concerning the transport and refining of offshore oil in a manner that considers state and local studies undertaken to date, that fully addresses the concerns of all affected regions, and that promotes the greatest benefits to the people of the state.