Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) has filed two Public Records Act (PRA) requests—one with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and another with Governor Gavin Newsom—demanding transparency on the administration’s deceptive handling of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) update, which is expected to raise gas prices as much as 65-cents per gallon. Click here for Leader Jones’ full PRA letter to CARB and here for the second PRA to Governor Newsom.
“CARB and the Governor pushed an expensive gas price hike behind closed doors, ignored public input, and misled Californians about the real cost,” said Leader Jones. “We believe their real goal is to drive gas prices so high that working families have no choice but to buy electric vehicles, whether they can afford them or not. The public deserves the truth and we intend to shine a light on this radical agenda.”
The PRA requests seek internal documents, emails, texts, memos, and all communications about the LCFS’s projected economic impacts, including the estimated 65-cent per gallon gas price increase. The request also targets the secretive modeling changes quietly made in “Attachment C”, and the coordination with Newsom’s office to spin the proposal to the media. The records cover key periods from 2022 to 2024.
“The Newsom Administration dodged questions, refused to release cost estimates, and claimed they can’t run the numbers on their gas price hike, even with dozens of highly paid staff. Since they won’t come clean about their plan to price-gouge Californians at the pump, we’re forced to file this public records request to expose the truth. We want to know what they knew, when they knew it, and why they were trying to deceive the public,” said Leader Jones.
CARB recently resubmitted the LCFS amendments to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL), requesting approval for implementation on July 1, 2025. Their resubmittal comes after the OAL previously halted the regulation due to transparency and procedural violations. In light of these violations and the administration’s refusal to answer questions, Leader Jones is demanding full disclosure of how Governor Newsom and CARB coordinated the rule behind closed doors while publicly denying its cost.
The PRA letters seek records that will reveal the full scope of coordination between CARB and the Governor’s Office, including:
All records relating to the Governor’s July 22, 2022 letter to CARB Chair Liane Randolph, in which the Governor directed the agency to increase the stringency of the LCFS to align with his electric vehicle mandate.
All updates to the LCFS cost estimates in Attachment C: LCFS Fuels and Credit Market Modeling to the First 15-Day Changes, released August 12, 2024, including any revisions that retracted or manipulated previous fuel price impacts.
All records and communications regarding CARB’s October 25, 2024 media briefing, where the Chief Executive Officer refused to answer questions about the updated LCFS regulation’s impact on gas prices.
In addition, Leader Jones is seeking:
All internal communications between CARB staff, board members, consultants, and the Governor’s Office, including the Communications and Public Affairs team, regarding the economic impact of the LCFS.
All documents referencing gas prices, consumer pass-through costs, and fuel modeling.
Records regarding how LCFS interacts with other regulations like the Advanced Clean Trucks and Advanced Clean Cars programs.
This action builds on Leader Jones’s efforts to stop the hidden 65-cent gas price hike from the LCFS regulation. Earlier this year, he introduced Senate Bill 2 to repeal the Newsom-imposed LCFS hike, but the bill was killed by radical environmentalist Democrats in committee.
Leader Jones also published an op-ed in The San Diego Union-Tribune exposing Newsom’s plan to raise gas prices and force Californians into electric vehicles.
Regulations like the LCFS are destabilizing California’s fuel market and pushing gasoline suppliers to shut down entirely. As the market becomes more volatile, Californians are facing higher prices and less reliable access to fuel. Leader Jones recently highlighted a new report from USC professor Michael Mische warning that gas prices could skyrocket by 75% to $8.43 per gallon as refinery closures accelerate under Newsom’s extreme agenda.