Newsom calls lawmakers into special session to address high gas prices

By Sophie Austin and Tran Nguyen | Associated Press/Report for America

SACRAMENTO — California lawmakers will come back in a special session after they wrap up their legislative year on Saturday to debate measures proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom aimed at reducing gas price spikes at the pump.

Newsom called the Legislature into the special session Saturday after Democrats in the Assembly pushed back on his efforts to pass the energy package that he unveiled this week. California must act now to “prevent price spikes next year and beyond,” he said.

“It should be common sense for gas refineries to plan ahead and backfill supplies when they go down for maintenance to avoid price spikes. 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,” he said in a statement.

Californians pay the highest rates at the pump in the nation at an average of $4.64 a gallon for regular unleaded, compared to the national average of $3.33, according to AAA. Electricity bills in the state have also nearly doubled in the last decade and are expected to keep outpacing inflation through 2027 as California races to transition away from fossil fuel.

The proposals and possibility of a special session have divided Democrats, who hold a supermajority in the Legislature.

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said his members wanted the special session to allow for more time to consider the proposals and applauded Newsom’s decision to call a special session. But members of the Senate, including Republicans, opposed the idea of coming back to Sacramento for more work after the legislative deadline on Saturday.

State Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire said in a statement responding to Newsom that the Senate “won’t be convening a special session this fall, but we look forward to continuing conversations with the Governor and Speaker about this critical issue in the days and weeks to come.” He instead wants the Legislature to pass the package Newsom is supporting Saturday.

It’s not immediately clear when the special session will start and how long it will last. With the Senate refusing to convene, it’s not clear how the Legislature would process. Veteran lobbyist Chris Micheli said there is no mechanism to force a chamber to convene a special session, but the governor could still take the Senate to court.

It’s not the first time Newsom has tried to apply pressure on the Legislature to pass oil and gas regulations. The Democrat called a special session in 2022 in an effort to pass a tax on oil company profits. He then said he wanted a penalty, not a tax. The law he ended up signing months later gave state regulators the power to penalize oil companies for making too much money.At the center of the political fight is a bill to require oil refiners to maintain a minimum inventory of fuel, with a goal of avoiding gas price spikes.

Gas price starts to spike when companies have too little supply on hand, supporters said, and the measure could help save drivers millions of dollars. But Western States Petroleum Association said the bill would push refiners into withholding supplies and hurt consumers.

“When you withhold supplies, costs go up,” WSPA spokesperson Kevin Slagle said.

There were 63 days from June through October last year in which refiners in California maintained fewer than 15 days of gas supply, according to the California Energy Commission. That was up from 49 days during the same timespan in 2022 and 35 days in 2021.

Lawmakers also had concerns with a proposal to give households a one-time rebate for electricity bills and one to streamline renewable energy projects. They already sent Newsom a bill earlier this week to restore power to households that were previously not able to pay their electric bills.

Republican Sen. Kelly Seyarto said Newsom’s proposals “ridiculous” and supported McGuire’s decision to not convene for the special session.

The special session is needed, said Assembly Democratic Caucus Chair Rick Chavez Zbur, who sits on the Utilities and Energy Committee. The proposal to address energy affordability will be brought back next session, he said.

The special session will focus on reducing gas price spikes at the pump.

“The entire Assembly caucus is committed to working with the governor to make sure that we’re lowering gas prices and addressing energy affordability in the state,” Zbur said. “It’s something we need to do urgently, but it also requires us to do it right.”

Austin is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Austin on X: @sophieadanna