SACRAMENTO, Calif.—State lawmakers are working on new legislation to address gas price spikes after California Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a special session, the governor’s office said on Sept. 3.
McGuire met with Newsom for about an hour Sept. 3, and now the two are working with Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) to identify possible solutions.
“The Governor and Senate Pro Tem had a productive meeting on Tuesday about a path forward to protect Californians from gas price spikes,” McGuire’s said in an emailed statement Sept. 4. “They’ll continue to work collaboratively, and we’ll have more to share soon.”
During a press conference Sept. 4 on a separate topic, the governor said he is confident that lawmakers will come together.
“We’re making progress,” Newsom said. “We’re moving as expeditiously as we possibly can.”
Newsom and Rivas announced in a joint news release Tuesday that Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) and Assemblyman Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) together are introducing a bill aimed at reducing gas price spikes by regulating the supply of gasoline in the state and requiring refiners to keep surplus reserves.
The governor said passing the bill would do families a big favor.
“I’m glad to see the Assembly is moving this important proposal forward to save Californians hundreds of millions of dollars at the pump,” Newsom said in a statement. “Gas price spikes are profit spikes for Big Oil, and California won’t stand by as families get gouged.”
The Assembly speaker also said the session is needed to curb oil industry profits. He said he plans to bring together a variety of stakeholders to assess the situation.
“During this important special session, the Assembly will convene public hearings that thoroughly vet proposals,” Rivas said. “We’ll hear from experts and ensure that the public has a voice in the process.”
One of the bill’s authors said improving affordability is the main priority of lawmakers during the session.
“Our Assembly understands the assignment, and that is to do everything in our power to lower the cost of living in our state,” Aguiar-Curry said in a statement in the release.
Citing a need to mitigate price fluctuations when refinery maintenance reduces supply, the other author said the bill will require oil companies to plan for refinery shutdowns more effectively.
“When gas prices spike because of supply constraints, everyday Californians suffer and the oil industry profits,” Hart said in a statement. “This legislation will protect California consumers by ensuring refineries maintain a stable fuel supply.”
Some lawmakers critical of the plan said the ideas would not likely result in significant price decreases at the pump.
“It’s a sham,” Assembly Republican Minority Leader James Gallagher told The Epoch Times. “There’s no real plan, goal, or policy that would lower gas prices.”
Removing fuels from the state’s cap-and-trade system—which sets limits on emissions and issues fines and fees for companies that exceed regulations—is an approach that some are calling for, while the governor’s plan could prove counterproductive, he said.
“They’d prefer to place the blame on oil and gas companies while pushing a policy that will actually decrease supplies and increase the price of gas,” Gallagher said.
He said high gas taxes and stringent regulations are driving, in part, high fuel costs in the Golden State.
The governor, however, said during the press conference on Sept. 4 that lowering taxes on gasoline would not necessarily translate into lower prices.
“The impacts of that ... the investments that are going to roads and bridges, culverts ... and infrastructure would be lost,” Newsom told The Epoch Times. “[The money] would go into the pockets of those same gas and oil interests. There’s no mandate that the cost at the pump decline commensurate with the reduction in the gas tax.”
Golden State residents pay about $1.34 more per gallon than the national average and about $2.61 more per gallon than in October 2022, according to American Automobile Association statistics.
