Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday scored a political victory as a Senate committee passed during an ongoing special legislative session a bill designed to drive down the cost of gasoline, which sells for around $1.50 a gallon more than the national average. While it’s win for Newsom, the measure won’t do anything to reduce gas prices and might nudge them higher.
If the Legislature had any self-awareness – or dignity, for that matter – it would have told Newsom to bring back this pointless legislation during a regular session. But the Assembly was willing to acquiesce to Newsom’s demand that members spend early fall in the Capitol rather than their districts during an election season.
Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, put up a good fight opposing this extra session, which Newsom called to deal with rising gasoline prices. But everyone in Sacramento should know the specific legislation the governor is pushing does more to boost his national political image than address any crisis. Extraordinary legislative sessions are for emergencies, not public relations.
McGuire at least scuttled Assembly Bill X2-9, per CalMatters. It would have empowered lawmakers and regulators to essentially expand the percentage of ethanol in the state’s gasoline blend to supposedly boost supply. McGuire said the bill needed more study, but we all know politicians are no better at micromanaging gas formulations than commissars were at dictating wheat harvests. Then again, some lawmakers pitched a state takeover of refineries, so one never does know.
However, the bill that the committee passed (AB X2-1) is just as nefarious and likely to worsen the situation. It requires refiners to expand reserves to protect against price shocks, but might actually increase prices because it’s costly to maintain large inventories. “What happens if a price spike never materializes – are Californians then stuck paying more year-round for no reason?” asked the Western States Petroleum Association. Fair question.
Bigger bureaucracies won’t push down fuel costs. Per the bill, current law “establishes the Independent Consumer Fuels Advisory Committee within the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission … to advise the Energy Commission and the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight.” That’s a lot commissions, but this new measure will then force that alphabet soup to consult with the Labor and Workforce Development agency (and various “stakeholders”) to manage oil inventories.
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Endorsements for the November 5, 2024 elections
Endorsement: Nathan Hochman for Los Angeles County District Attorney
Newsom should’ve vetoed more bills
Endorsement: No on Proposition 35. Let the Legislature figure out how to fund Medi-Cal.
Is it any wonder our oil market is such a mess? As this Editorial Board has explained repeatedly, the source of California’s high gas prices is no mystery. The state imposes the highest gas taxes in the nation. It requires a special formulation that reduces supplies. It imposes the nation’s most stringent regulations. Our official policy is to eliminate fossil fuels and the state continues to sue the industry for various reasons. Seeing the writing on the wall, oil companies are not investing in new capacity.
Instead of dealing with these obvious and demonstrable causes for high oil prices, California lawmakers are passing a bill that is at best pointless showboating, but at worst might make matters worse. They are doing so in an extraordinary legislative session, pretending that a problem years in the making (and largely their own fault) is the result of some recent emergency. We won’t blame you for sniggering when Newsom takes his victory lap.
