Newsom to call special legislative session over gas prices

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday he will call a special session of the state Legislature in December to pass a new tax on oil companies as punishment for what he calls “rank price gouging."

Newsom told reporters on Friday that the special session will begin Dec. 5 after all the votes have been counted from the November elections and newly elected lawmakers are sworn in.

Gas prices soared across the nation this year because of high inflation, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and ongoing disruptions in the global supply chain. But while gas prices have recovered somewhat nationwide, they have continued to spike in California, hitting an average of $6.39 per gallon on Friday — $2.58 higher than the national average.

“This is just rank price gouging,” Newsom told reporters on Friday. “It's time to get serious. I'm sick of this.”

Kevin Slagle, vice president for the Western States Petroleum Association, said “a better use of the special session would be to take a hard look at decades of California energy policy and what they mean to consumers and our economy.”

“If this was anything other than a political stunt, the Governor wouldn't wait two months and would call the special session now, before the election,” Slagle said. “This industry is ready right now to work on real solutions to energy costs and reliability if that is what the Governor is truly interested in.”

Several states chose to suspend their gas taxes during the price surge, including Maryland, New York and Georgia. Newsom and his fellow Democrats that control the state Legislature refused to do that, opting instead to send $9.5 billion in rebates to taxpayers — which began showing up in bank accounts this week.

It's unclear how the tax Newsom is proposing would work. Newsom said...