California’s Assembly is forging ahead this week with Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s call for a special session focused on spikes in gas prices.
The special session — called by the governor to address a specific topic — is meant to curtail gas prices and increase fuel and oil capacity, according to Democratic leaders. The first informational hearing, led by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine, is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 18.
“California is uniquely vulnerable to supply disruptions,” said Petrie-Norris, who was picked to chair the special session committee. “Gas prices are severely impacted by any supply disruption.”
“I’m committed to delivering real solutions as part of this special session to stabilize gas prices and provide real savings for California familes,” she said.
The committee for the special session is bipartisan — Petrie-Norris said she’s already had conversations with a Republican colleague on the committee — and will start with a series of informational hearings. Those types of hearings are “an opportunity to educate all members who will be asked to weigh in on” the issue, Petrie-Norris said.
“The goal of the governor’s proposal is to require oil companies to better plan for refinery shutdowns and require companies to maintain an inventory surplus so we avoid supply disruptions and huge price spikes and save Californians money,” Petrie-Norris said.
The special session is meant to address what Newsom’s office called “the pernicious problem of gasoline price spikes at the pump,” asking the legislature to have the California Energy Commission require petroleum refiners to maintain an inventory of refined fuel throughout the distribution chain. The idea, according to Newsom’s office, is “to avoid supply shortages that create higher prices at the pump for consumers.”
His plan also calls for the California Energy Commission to impose minimum inventory requirements for refiners to ensure transportation fuel is stable.
“It should be common sense for gas refineries to plan ahead and backfill supplies when they go down for maintenance to avoid price spikes,” Newsom said in a statement. “But these price spikes are actually profit spikes for Big Oil, and they’re using the same old scare tactics to maintain the status quo.”
According to the Associated Press, there were more than 60 days between June and October in 2023 when California refiners maintained fewer than 15 days of gas supply, per data from the California Energy Commission. During that same time span in 2022, there were 49 days when the supply was that low, the Associated Press reported.
But the Western States Petroleum Association said Newsom’s proposal would ultimately race gas costs for Californians and require refiners to withhold fuel.
“Gov. Newsom’s refinery supply mandate will create artificial shortages of fuel in California, Arizona and Nevada by forcing refiners to withhold fuels from the market,” WSPA President and CEO Catherine Reheis-Boyd said in a statement. “Lawmakers who vote for this mandate will be voting to increase gas costs for their constituents.”
Assembly Democrats have so far introduced one bill related to the governor’s request, according to the speaker’s office: ABX2-1 from Assemblymembers Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, and Gregg Hart, D-Santa Barbara.
Republicans – who have also pushed back on the governor’s plan – have put forth their own slate of bills for the special session that they said would provide more immediate relief.
Among them is ABX2-7 from Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, which would task the California Energy Commission with keeping a regularly updated public dashboard comparing California’s gas prices to national averages. The dashboard would also include “the impact of state taxes and regulations,” according to Assembly Republicans.
“California’s statewide average gas prices have hit record high levels in the last several years,” Dixon said. “It is concerning and unacceptable that we suffer from the highest gas prices and taxes in the nation. Californians should have easy access to as much information as possible, which is what this dashboard tool would provide.”
Another informational hearing is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 19, according to Speaker Robert Rivas, with a bill hearing the following Thursday. Floor session is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 1.
“I’m grateful we can spend time to dive in, spend time to evaluate the specifics of the proposal, understand any unintended consequences and move forward with the best possible solution to deliver the most relief for Californians,” said Petrie-Norris.
