Just as he did in 2019, Gov. Gavin Newsom is blaming oil industry “price gouging” for the fact that California has far higher gasoline prices than the rest of the country. At that time, Newsom demanded an investigation by the California Energy Commission, which ended with a 10-page report citing the effect of the state’s own policies and finding no evidence of illegal activity. Then Newsom sent the matter to Attorney General Xavier Becerra to investigate further.
But like an undead vampire flying to the necks of California consumers, the governor’s proposal is back in a new form. This week, Newsom announced that he reached an agreement with legislative leaders to advance a bill that would empower the state bureaucracy to do what the Legislature did not want to do — impose penalties for “excess” profits.