SACRAMENTO, California — Environmental justice groups came into this session riding high on the back of wins over the oil industry — and they ran into the affordability buzzsaw.
Organizations that started the year with ambitious goals of passing legislation to hold polluting companies liable for climate change damages — fresh off the ballot box defeat of an industry referendum challenging the state’s oil well setback law — instead find themselves making a last-ditch effort with just days left to kill SB 237, a bill backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders that would boost drilling in Kern County.
That shift in momentum towards industry reflects Democratic lawmakers’ fears that the planned closures of two of the state’s nine refineries could send gas prices soaring — just as they’re trying to claw back seats from Republicans in a mid-term election where both parties are trying to claim the affordability champion mantle. And it highlights the political risks of aggressively moving away from fossil fuels without a transition plan in place…