Moments ago, under the guise of “trying to prevent gas price hikes,” lame duck Governor Gavin Newsom and other progressive legislators pushed a bare majority of Senate Democrats to raise gas prices right before the November election. This risky move comes as Newsom’s Air Resources Board is quietly pushing a new 65 cent per gallon tax at the pump, costing Californians another $8.8 billion a year.
“Lame Duck Gavin Newsom pushed through a gas price hike right before the election just to feel relevant again,” said Jones. “Adding insult to injury, he’s now plotting to add yet another gas price hike of 65 cents per gallon. Californians need to know their Governor and progressive Democrat lawmakers are working overtime to increase costs at the pump and make gasoline so expensive that you’re forced into an electric car.”
Assembly Bill X2-1, sponsored by Newsom, barely cleared the State Senate this morning, receiving only 23 votes in support from Senate Democrats and 9 bipartisan votes in opposition. The controversial measure would allow state bureaucrats to mandate refineries withhold gasoline from distribution to gas stations in California and other Western states. Several entities, from labor unions to small businesses to taxpayer advocates, have weighed in with opposition, expressing concerns that AB X2-1 could drive up gas prices and harm California’s already shaky economy.
"It’s simple economics—when supply goes down, prices go up," added Leader Jones. "The worst part? Californians will be the ones to pay the price—literally—for these political games when they're faced with even higher gas costs."
Newsom’s own Energy Commission, in an analysis of AB X2-1, said it could “artificially create shortages in downstream markets” and “increase average [gas] prices.”
Arizona Democrat Governor Katie Hobbs and Nevada Republican Governor Joe Lombardo co-signed a letter opposing Newsom’s plan, expressing concerns “that refinery inventory mandates (arbitrarily withholding gasoline from the market) could result in supply shortages and potential refinery shutdowns, which would have grave impacts on our shared economies and transportation infrastructure across the West.”
Newsom, who had been vying to replace Joe Biden as the Democratic Presidential nominee, was summarily dismissed by the National Democrat Party in favor of Newsom’s longtime rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
"After sitting on this costly proposal all year, Newsom was too busy chasing a presidential nomination to actually do his job in California and work with the Legislature on policy during the regular session,” said Leader Jones. “Now that his national ambitions have been rightfully squashed, he’s grappling with his irrelevance as a lame duck governor. Progressive Democrat lawmakers can’t say NO to their king and went along with his publicity charade that ultimately will raise prices at the pump.”
Leader Jones posted an Instagram Reel video alerting Californians about the governor’s plan to increase costs. In the video, Leader Jones reviews basic economic concepts, which prove that limiting supply, as the governor’s proposal seeks to do, causes price increases.
“If AB X2-1 gets enacted, it could well become known as the ‘California Democrat legislators’ planned gasoline shortage disaster,’” concluded Jones.