Halftime in Sacramento: CIPA’s Advocacy Is Delivering Scores
- Jul 21, 2025
- 3 min read
As the State Legislature enters its summer recess, now is the perfect time for CIPA members to assess the scoreboard at the halfway mark of the session, and the score is looking strong. Through strategic advocacy, coalition-building, and relentless pursuit of policy wins, CIPA member companies—oil producers, service-and-supply firms, and royalty owners—are reaping the rewards of their investment, both time and monetarily.
CIPA’s work in Sacramento has yielded clear progress:
In a recent letter to the California Energy Commission, CEO Rock Zierman emphasized the need to stabilize in‑state crude production. He outlined a clear and achievable path for stabilizing the state’s energy market: support in‑state crude oil production, noting that without action, California would continue to import oil from places with looser environmental standards (My Site, cipa.org).
Zierman continued, “It is hypocritical for the state to shut down in‑state oil production and cause other regions of the world to supply its energy… Let’s instead make it here in California, by California workers, paying California taxes, under California’s strict environmental rules” (My Site).
By anchoring its message in facts, such as California consumes 1.8 million barrels daily and local production lags, CIPA successfully framed in‑state oil as critical for refinery reliability, energy security, and consumer price stability.
Recent coverage has underscored the state’s declining production:
The California Independent Petroleum Association reported that domestic output has decreased by roughly 170,000 barrels a day over six years, attributing this to permit delays (KCRA).
That number is resonating across Capitol halls, reinforcing CIPA’s message: if production does not stabilize now, more refineries will close, and Californians will begin paying gas prices higher than anyone has ever seen.
It's not just about pushing forward; it’s also about stopping the toughest bills. So far, CIPA has either killed or forced various bills into “two-year bills.” Among them are these stinkers:
AB 1243 is DEAD. The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025 would have held oil companies accountable for emissions from 1990 to 2024 by requiring them to pay for climate-related damages like the Palisades and Alta Dena Fires.
SB 222 is DEAD. It would have held oil companies presumptively guilty for causing harmful weather and then would have required oil companies to reimburse insurance companies for their payout costs.
SB 684 is DEAD. Nearly identical to AB 1243, also called The Polluters Pay Climate Superfund Act of 2025, would have held oil companies accountable for emissions from 1990 to 2024 by requiring them to pay for climate-related damage like the Palisades and Alta Dena Fires.
During the summer recess, CIPA intends to push forward with key amendments to bills to achieve the following goals:
Codify the Kern EIR, to address bottlenecks that have hampered production in California’s most prolific oil production county.
Advance setback reform to keep existing wells online under science-based protections inside the HPZ’s.
Press for bonding reform and a fix to AB 1167; sensible bonding reform to allow transactions within the oil space.
Champion permit timeline reform so that the two-year clock begins running on a permit to drill after the permit is fully approved, not when the permit is initially applied for.
At halftime of the Legislative Session CIPA is delivering:
Legislative knockouts of harmful bills.
Policy alignment among regulators, industry, and lawmakers.
Introduction of language to “unleash Kern County production”
Media traction validating the need to stabilize in‑state production.
Framework for continued permit and regulatory reforms.
Members can be confident: CIPA is turning engagement into results, on both the state and federal levels. The last barrel of oil used in California should be produced here, under our world-class standards.