We don’t get a lot of opportunity to celebrate judges’ decisions these days, because it seems like all too many of them have decided since the advent of Trump 2.0 that they actually make and execute the laws, and Congress and the president are merely bystanders.
But a stunner out of California could be a massive boon to oil production in the Golden State, which is regularly stymied by draconian rules and regulations ginned up by the leftist legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom. They have the imbecilic notion that if you kneecap production and drive up prices for residents here, it will somehow magically lower worldwide carbon emissions.
Newsflash: The oil will just get pumped elsewhere, and more citizens will flee California as it continues to be one of the most expensive states to live in.
Here’s the good news:
A tentative court ruling could reopen the door to fracking in Kern County, giving oil producers hope of tapping massive reserves that have remained out of reach under California’s ban.
Kern County Superior Court Judge Bernard C. Barmann Jr.’s preliminary decision comes two years after the state formally banned the practice and five years after it stopped approving fracking applications.
In his tentative ruling, Barmann Jr. took aim at the state’s fracking ban, finding that regulators had failed to follow the legally required process when imposing the restrictions.
RedState Managing Editor Jennifer Van Laar applauded the news:
It's about to be boom times in B-Town!https://t.co/wNQ6KWWJNb
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) October 13, 2026
Climate zealot Gavin Newsom, who appointed Barmann to fill an interim vacancy, is not going to be very happy with his choice because the judge dared to point out that many of California’s restrictions seem nonsensical.
The judge described the prohibition on well stimulation treatments, including fracking, as an “invalid underground regulation” that was “adopted without the rulemaking the Administrative Procedure Act requires.”
“The permit denials were arbitrary and unsupported because they rested on a climate-change rationale that was not in fact the operative basis for the ban,” Barmann wrote.
It gets even better, though, because Barmann actually delivers common sense here instead of the environmental wacktivism we so often see on the Left Coast:
He also challenged the state’s environmental justification for the ban, arguing that the evidence did not support claims that it would help curb greenhouse gas emissions.
The state agency’s “determination that a categorical ban is reasonably necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is not supported by substantial evidence and lacks a rational connection to that purpose,” he wrote.
Boom. Somewhere in Alaska, RedState’s Ward Clark is pumping his fist and yelling, “you tell ‘em, judge!”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton knows all too well how California’s war on energy devastates the consumer and is performative rather than effective:
Hawaii has cheaper gas than California.
— Steve Hilton (@SteveHiltonx) October 12, 2026
We're sitting on abundant oil reserves. They're sitting in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Yet somehow...
HAWAII HAS CHEAPER GAS THAN CALIFORNIA!!! pic.twitter.com/9OcKOgrY7m
The tentative ruling will be under a standard review process for about 50 days before it becomes finalized. Even if it stands up, though, the all-but-certain appeals to come could extend the legal fight for years.
Still, it’s nice to see a little bit of sanity for once in the formerly Golden State.
Editor’s Note: California is the poster child for everything that is wrong with the Democrat Party and the “progressive” movement.
Help us continue exposing Democrats' plans to lead America down a dangerous path. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.
Join the Conversation
VIP members get the ability to comment on articles.