LOS ANGELES — As the oil industry wages a multimillion-dollar campaign to repeal California drilling restrictions, the campaign to defend the state’s environmental protections is starting to resemble a Hollywood blockbuster.

In a showcase of political clout and celebrity influence, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and actor Jane Fonda joined Gov. Gavin Newsom and environmental advocates Friday in Los Angeles to call on voters to rescue Senate Bill 1137, a state law that intends to ban new oil and gas drilling within 3,200 feet of homes, schools and parks next year.

Although Newsom signed the measure into law in 2022, California’s oil industry spent around $20 million to collect enough signatures to put the law on the November ballot.

However, the fossil fuel interest groups have been challenged by a well-funded political committee whose biggest sponsors include former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia and a coalition of environmental groups.

As a part of their counteroffensive, they enlisted Schwarzenegger and Fonda, two longtime opponents of oil drilling, for a news conference at a Ladera Heights soccer field that neighbors the Inglewood Oil Field — the nation’s largest urban drill site.

“They’re spending millions and millions of dollars because they want to tell the California people that it is safe to drill next to a house,” Schwarzenegger said as pumpjacks slowly bobbed behind him.

“They’re coming back with the same trick and the same dialog. There will be no difference. They will be terminated again,” he continued, referencing his famed “Terminator” movie franchise.

The oil industry has argued that less domestic oil production will result in more imported petroleum and higher emissions from shipping.

“Senate Bill 1137 doesn’t just prevent new wells. It shuts down existing wells since maintenance is not allowed,” said Rock Zierman, CEO of the California Independent Petroleum Assn. “That means we will import more from the Saudi royal family instead of using local energy produced by California workers.”

The oil drilling referendum has evolved into one of the most expensive ballot measures of the 2024 general election so far, according to state election data. And the consequences, environmental advocates say, are far-reaching.

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