California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of energy legislation Friday that will expand oil drilling in the state’s interior, allow the state to join a regional power transmission system, and extend the state’s cap-and-trade greenhouse gas emissions reduction program.
The legislation also infuses $18 billion into a fund for electric utilities that face bankruptcy after wildfires, and provide $1 billion annually for the state’s embattled high-speed rail project (SB 840) as part of a bundle of high-priority bills that passed right before the legislature adjourned on Sept. 13.
The measures reflect a pivot by Newsom and Democratic ...