Gavin Newsom signs law to rein in gas prices

SACRAMENTO, California — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday aimed at reining in soaring gas prices that have come to symbolize California’s multi-faceted struggle with affordability.

Newsom said ABX 2 1 , which gives his administration new authority to regulate the dwindling number of oil refineries, will bring oil majors to heel by requiring them to prevent price spikes caused by maintenance and low supplies.

“They have been raking in unprecedented profits because they can,” the Democratic governor said at a press conference Monday where he signed the bill, hours after lawmakers sent it to his desk . ”They’ve been screwing you for years and years and years.”

The oil industry has fought the bill in Sacramento, arguing it could backfire and drive up costs. The head of the industry’s main trade group accused lawmakers of being more concerned with painting Big Oil as a villain than tamping down gas prices.

“For those ready to stop playing politics, we welcome the opportunity to address the real issues driving fuel prices higher for Californians and their families,” Western States Petroleum Association CEO Cathy Reheis-Boyd said in a statement.

Newsom said at the press conference that the proposal was “not about politics.” At the same time, he posted an animated video on X showing former President Donald Trump cutting down trees with a chainsaw to make way for oil derricks. He accused the industry in the video of increasing gas prices during the election to “scare voters” into supporting Trump.

The signing demonstrates the waning political clout of Big Oil in a state that remains one of the top oil producers in the U.S. but is aggressively trying to transition from fossil fuels to renewables without major disruptions to people’s lives.

Oil industry players and their allies in the Republican Party have spent weeks arguing the bill will imperil Democrats running in close elections — even suggesting it could harm Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign in the neighboring battlegrounds of Nevada and Arizona. Joining them have been some Democrats, notably Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, who openly fretted about the impact on gas prices in her state.

While there isn’t any clear evidence that the issue has seeped into the presidential contest, Republicans have weaponized it in key California House districts, including in the Central Valley where Democrat Rudy Salas, a former state lawmaker, is taking on GOP Rep. David Valadao .

Newsom said Monday his administration has spoken with the administrations of Hobbs and Lombardo and that he had assured them California’s law would reduce prices in their states.

“We have had followup conversation with all those governors and their administrations,” he said. “What I can say to them is now we have the tools.”

The law aims to prevent price spikes that drove the state’s average gas price above $6 per gallon the past two years. It gives the California Energy Commission the authority to require refiners to store more gas and share resupply plans with the state, which Newsom said will prevent price spikes by providing a buffer against supply shortages.

Newsom called a special session to push the bill through the state’s Democratic-led Legislature over opposition from the oil industry and its allies in organized labor, who raised the specter of even higher prices and 1970s-era lines outside gas stations.

The oil industry and unions representing building trades workers argued the proposal would threaten safety by giving bureaucrats authority over refinery operations.

The law takes effect in January, after which state regulators will decide whether and how to impose requirements on refiners. The California Energy Commission is also still considering whether to use its authority under a 2023 law to impose a cap on oil refiners’ profit margins. The agency has said it expects to make that decision by the end of the year.