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California Democrat Removed From Committee After Defying Newsom

April 11, 2023

A California Democratic lawmaker has been removed from an Assembly committee after voting against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new law aimed at punishing oil companies for windfall profits.

Newly elected Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains (D-Delano) represents a small community north of Bakersfield in central California. The region produces about 70 percent of the state’s oil.

Bains published a statement March 30, saying she was informed by the office of Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood) she would be removed from the Assembly Business and Professions Committee.

“While I am disappointed, I remain firm in my commitment to serve the interests of the people I was elected to represent,” Bains said in a statement, as reported by Sacramento television station KCRA.

Despite Bains’s move, the measure easily passed the state Legislature where Democrats hold a supermajority in both chambers. It was signed into law by the governor the next day March 28, taking effect 90 days after that.

“For decades, oil companies have gotten away with ripping off California families while making record profits and hiding their books from public view,” Newsom said March 23 after it passed the Senate. “With this proposal, California leaders are ending the era of oil’s outsized influence and holding them accountable.”

The law will create new regulations and extensive oversight for oil companies and allows an appointed commission to issue fines and penalties for earning profits beyond state-imposed limits.

“Stand alone if you must, but always stand for the truth,” Bains wrote on Twitter March 27 after she voted against the governor’s legislation in the Assembly. “As the lone Democrat to oppose the new gas tax, I will never throw my constituents under the bus. I will continue to fight for lower gas prices and a stronger Kern County.”

In response, Newsom’s chief of staff, Dana Williamson, wrote on Twitter, “Alone and confused you shall likely remain.”

Bains replied to Williamson with a photo of her sitting with supporters, saying: “#NeverAlone.”