In action Friday, Oct. 11 in Sacramento, the State Senate passed legislation aimed at preventing gas price spiking during floor session of the Second Extraordinary Session and passed a resolution to adjourn, marking an end to the one-week special session in the upper house.
The Senate convened the Extraordinary Session, the second in two years, on Oct. 7, held two committee hearings regarding the bill, and held a floor vote on ABX2-1 before adjourning on Friday. The bill addresses maintaining California’s fuel supply, in an effort to help prevent price spiking that directly impacts consumers. It now heads back to the Assembly for a concurrence vote.
“Rising gas prices impact everyone in California and nearly every facet of our lives – from how much we’re paying at the pump to the cost of what we’re buying at the store. Putting mechanisms in place to help prevent costs from spiking and sending family budgets into a tailspin benefits us all, and working together, we’ve been able to do just that,” said Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire (D-North Coast). “Thank you to all of the Senators for the swift, hard work and focus this week, and to our Assembly partners and Governor Newsom for their partnership on this effort.”
ABX2-1, authored by Assemblymembers Gregg Hart and Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, and Senator Nancy Skinner, is focused on helping prevent gas price spiking by giving the California Energy Commission (CEC) authority to require refiners to store more gas. Amendments to the bill include requiring that regulations must protect the health and safety of employees, local communities and the public, specifying that regulations may not interfere with existing safety laws, allowing the CEC to cap the small refineries exemption at 75,000 barrels per day, and other technical, clarifying language.
“All members of the Senate share concerns about the effect rising gas prices have on California families and the ripple effects that may have on the costs of other goods. Protecting consumers has always been our top priority,” said Senator Steven Bradford (D-Gardena), who chaired the Senate Special Committee on Fuel Supply and Price Spikes. “As policymakers, we must be diligent in our oversight of the regulatory agencies to ensure that this legislation is implemented in a manner that protects the safety of the workers and makes gasoline more affordable for families. There is still much work to be done.”
“I am proud to be a joint author of this groundbreaking legislation. Requiring California’s oil refiners to keep on hand a minimum supply of refined gasoline will help avoid the shortages that have caused the price of gas to spike up 50 to 75 cents per gallon and cost Californians up to $2 billion a year,” noted Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley). “ABX2-1 should help stabilize gas prices and provide California motorists with some much-needed relief at the pump.”
