California Black Media

Gov. Newsom and Speaker Rivas Announce Legislation That Will Prevent Gas Hikes

California lawmakers have introduced legislation to prevent gasoline price spikes, stated Gov. Gavin Newsom and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Hollister) last week during a special legislative session on gas prices. The State Assembly set a legislative plan of action to address the surge in gas prices, proposing a bill to increase crude oil and fuel capacity to lower high prices for residents pumping gas at refill stations.

Published

8 months ago

September 13, 2024

Oakland Post

The legislation, introduced and co-authored by Assemblymembers Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) and Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara), aims to make oil refiners manage the state’s gasoline supply responsibly and protect consumers from unexpected financial burdens.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

The State Assembly set a legislative plan of action to address the surge in gas prices, proposing a bill to increase crude oil and fuel capacity to lower high prices for residents pumping gas at refill stations. The legislation, introduced and co-authored by Assemblymembers Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) and Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara), aims to make oil refiners manage the state’s gasoline supply responsibly and protect consumers from unexpected financial burdens.

Newsom praised the bill and commended lawmakers for proposing legislation that could help residents save money.

“Gas price spikes are profit spikes for Big Oil, and California won’t stand by as families get gouged,” said Newsom.

Rivas stated that a special session was held to thoroughly vet the proposals.

“We must stop oil companies from raking in record profits at the expense of Californians,” said Rivas.

“We’ll hear from experts and ensure that the public has a voice in the process. I’m committed to delivering solutions that can rein in soaring gas costs and provide real savings at the pump,” he said.

In 2022, Gov. Newsom partnered with the Legislature to sign into law a package of reforms that hold oil companies accountable for the spike in gas prices. The reforms helped create the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight, an independent agency that monitored oil companies. The agency uncovered that high gas prices were caused by suspicious market transactions. Lawmakers outlined specific proposals to reform the state’s gas spot market to prevent spikes due to a lack of stable gas supply.

This year, lawmakers worked with the independent agency to monitor gas prices and discovered that refineries went offline without planning to backfill supplies. As a result, refining margins spiked causing spot and retail prices for gas to increase.

Under this new bill, Newsom plans to authorize the California Energy Commission (CEC) to maintain a minimum inventory of refined fuel in the distribution chain to avoid supply shortages.