SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom’s special session proposal to hold Big Oil accountable, authored by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), is now in print. The measure includes a dedicated, year-round independent watchdog to root out price gouging by oil companies.
The language of the special session proposal can be found here. With this step, the bill can now move through the legislative process of committee hearings and votes.
What Governor Newsom said: “Together with the Legislature, we’re going to hold Big Oil accountable for ripping off Californians at the pump. Today’s agreement represents a major milestone in our efforts to drive the oil industry out of the shadows and ensure they play by the rules. This represents some of the strongest and most effective transparency and oversight measures in the country, and the penalty would root out price gouging. We’re getting the job done for California families.”
The Governor last week met with Attorney General Rob Bonta, co-sponsor of the measure, and representatives from a broad coalition of nearly 200 organizations, stakeholders and local leaders supporting the measure to create strong and effective new oversight over oil companies to protect Californians.
“Let’s face it: Californians deserve answers and accountability for the prices we’re paying at the pump. We know what the costs of maintaining our roads and meeting our climate goals are, and with this bill, the state will finally have the tools to get answers on oil profits and put a stop to price gouging,” said Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins (D-San Diego). “I want to thank Senators Skinner, Bradford, Limón, and McGuire for their work on reforms that include the transparency and accountability needed to stop any wrongdoing and to protect California consumers.”
“Gas prices are out of step with the rest of the country, so it is important that we can move forward with measures that will begin to put the brakes on oil company price gouging. An accountability structure is a major step to requiring producers to justify price hikes,” said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Lakewood). “I thank my Assembly colleagues Irwin, Lee, Ting and E. Garcia for working with the administration to refine this plan, and our colleagues in the Senate for putting the plan into legislation.”
The proposal would create a new, independent watchdog within the California Energy Commission (CEC) charged with monitoring California’s petroleum market on a daily basis to ensure market participants play by the rules. The division would have access to new information required to be reported by refiners, subpoena power to compel production of other data and records that could reveal patterns of misconduct or price manipulation, and authority to refer violations of law to the Attorney General for prosecution.
Additionally, the CEC would be authorized to set a price gouging penalty via a public rulemaking process, to hold Big Oil accountable for making excessive profits at the expense of Californian families. The CEC would establish a penalty structure that deters excessive pricing by imposing a civil penalty on refiners who charge more than a maximum allowable margin for the price of gasoline.
The Governor’s proposal also enhances the state’s authority to analyze why California has seen unexplained higher gas prices since 2015 – sometimes referred to as the “mystery gasoline surcharge” – and enforce reporting requirements on the oil industry to provide greater transparency into California’s petroleum market and encourage companies to play by the rules.
More details on the Governor’s proposal can be found here.
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