On Sept. 19, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a consequential new bill, Senate Bill 237, that promises to reshape energy in California. A political lightning rod both locally and statewide, the bill aims to reopen oil drilling in Kern County.
SB 237 is just one in a bundle of six energy bills meant to keep the state competitive in generating energy and jobs, all while fighting climate change. Newsom touted the effort as bipartisan, showing his ability to work across the aisle in getting the bill passed.
Even so, some across the aisle said this week there is still more work to do. In late September, House Rep. Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, called the oil bill a “wake-up call” during a chamber of commerce meeting at the Stockdale Country Club in southwest Bakersfield.
“We are the ones that are going to provide production,” Fong reportedly told the group. “But we also need to be the ones that are going to be advocating for these bigger, holistic changes that are going to ensure not only the stability of our market in Kern County,” he said, but also the “stability of the entire energy market across the state of California.”
An about-face on oil from Newsom
But the passage of SB 237 represents a significant departure for Newsom. A year ago, on Sept. 25, 2024, Newsom signed another piece of sweeping legislation, Assembly Bill 3233. It was sponsored by the Center for Biological Diversity and put restrictions on gas and oil drilling in the hands of individual communities instead of the state…