When asked last week, Newsom said imposing a limit on the profits of oil refiners is challenging, in part, because it’s largely uncharted territory in California and the rest of the nation.The Democratic governor also highlighted the lack of transparency from oil refiners. The state’s largest oil refining companies declined to participate in a prior hearing on gas prices held by the California Energy Commission.
State Sen. Dave Min said he has concerns about the governor’s proposal and didn’t see any “smoking guns” at the hearing. But he also said the state’s petroleum market is broken if the industry is able to earn record profits while Californians pay “ridiculously high” gas prices.
Can we have a penalty on our lawmakers for causing us record taxes?