SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Governor Gavin Newsom is calling for a special session so legislators can impose a tax on oil companies. The announcement came Friday after political reporter Morgan Rynor asked Newsom why four energy experts said the high costs consumers are seeing now are because of environmental policies.
It will be in December when the legislature is already supposed to return from break. Newsom says it’s to make sure they do this right and get all their ducks in a row.
On Tuesday, Rynor asked energy experts why California’s gas prices are so high. She told Newsom their response was environmental policies making it hard to supplement California’s special blend of gas when a refinery closes for maintenance.
“They don't know what the hell they're talking about if that's their assessment. I mean, you can add up all the environmental-related costs in California, [it] doesn't equate to the $2.50 that they're gouging us on,” said Newsom.
So, he has a plan to address it.
“We're calling for a windfall profits tax, and I'm calling for a special session on December 5. It's time to get serious, I'm sick of this,” said Newsom.
A windfall profits tax will tax the oil companies when they make over a certain amount of profit and hand the money back to the consumer in some way.
Now, why December 5?
“We'll take advantage in the next few weeks to work that through with our legal teams, our respective staffs. It's never been done at the state level, so this is a novel strategy and approach. We mean business, this will give us the time to do it,” said Newsom.
In the meantime, Newsom points to calling for the state to switch to its winter blend of gas earlier than usual.
“That's already paying dividends and that was a tool in our toolkit that we think can offset minimum of 25 cents, and we want to see it get closer to 40 over the next month or so,” he said.
Another reporter asked why Newsom announced it if there are no details for his plan. He said he’s reacting in the moment to the news of record-breaking gas prices, but his team is working on the language for his plan.
Republicans sent him a letter Friday asking him to drop the gas tax you pay at the pump. He made it clear he would never do that, and says there’s nothing about their plan that’s real.
“Just because you tax companies less does not mean they will pass those savings down to consumers," he said.