Big Oil pulls Democratic lawmakers through the revolving door

By Laurel Rosenhall, CALmatters
Inside the California Assembly chamber on the night of June 1, the presiding officer urged lawmakers to recognize former members in their midst, “the honorable Henry Perea and Felipe Fuentes.” In a familiar Capitol ritual, the former assemblymen waved from the balcony as applause rang out from their one-time colleagues.
But the two weren’t just retired lawmakers—they were now lobbyists being paid by oil companies to kill a bill that would s