Approved bills aim to lower gas and utility costs

At signing ceremony, Newsom says package pushing clean energy was a compromise.

- BY LAURA J. NELSON

GOV. Gavin Newsom signs a slew of climate initiative bills at a news conference on Friday at the Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a sweeping package of climate and environment bills aimed at reducing the cost of electricity, stabilizing gasoline prices and propping up California's struggling oil industry.

At a bill signing ceremony at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, Newsom told state lawmakers and representatives from labor, business, climate and energy groups that the package was a compromise, designed to push California toward a clean-energy future while still ensuring the state has enough affordable gasoline to meet drivers' needs.

“Everybody recognized this moment and worked together across their differences, which were not insignificant,” Newsom said.