California Convening Special Session To Tax Oil Companies
Sacramento, CA — State lawmakers are back in Sacramento today as Governor Gavin Newsom has called for a special session to penalize oil companies for seeing record profits during a time of high gas prices.
Today is also when new lawmakers are being sworn into office, including the Mother Lode’s new Senator for District Four, Marie Alvarado-Gil.
However, the start of the special session will primarily be ceremonial. No substantive action is anticipated on oil issues until early January, according to the Associated Press. Governor Newsom has indicated that he would like lawmakers to tax “windfall profits” and send the revenue back to the drivers. No specific details have been released regarding his plan. He argues that oil companies are “profiteering at the expense of California families.“
The Democratic leaders of the Senate and Assembly put out a joint statement, noting, “We look forward to examining the governor’s detailed proposal when we receive it.”
Meanwhile, Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher says, “They need to face reality…it’s their (Democrats) policy decisions that are driving up the cost of fuel in California. Policymakers should be solely focused on ways to lower gas prices. More taxes are not the answer.”
California’s average price for regular unleaded, at about $4.85, is approximately $140 higher than the national average. The state’s excise gas tax is 54-cents per gallon.
The myMotherLode.com gas price section shows local prices between $3.89 and $4.99.
