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California Gov. Gavin Newsom has put politics over policy, repeatedly hurling insults at opponents of a bill he signed into law Monday to combat soaring gas prices, an energy industry group said. The leader spoke.
Shortly after lawmakers passed a law to rein in gas prices, which required regulators to ensure that refineries have a certain amount of fuel on hand to keep prices low when refineries are shut down for maintenance. Mr. Newsom blamed oil companies and Western countries. The industry group, the State Petroleum Association (WSPA), was charged with spreading “misinformation” and engaging in “manipulation.”
“Specifically the WSPA and its talking points, and Big Oil, which continues to deliberately lie to the public,” Newsom said in Sacramento, surrounded by lawmakers, underscoring the conflict many Californians are feeling at the pump. . “They are a contaminated part of this climate crisis. They continue to lie and continue to manipulate.”
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California Governor Gavin Newsom speaks while signing a bill aimed at preventing soaring gasoline prices at the state Capitol on Monday, October 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin/AP Images)
WSPA President and CEO Katherine Reheis Boyd criticized Newsom’s comments as political theater filled with personal insults.
“This is literally politics over policy,” Rehuis Boyd told FOX Business. “His attacks, filled with personal insults, are only divisive and do not address the real issues we are trying to address.”
“Calling the hard-working men and women in this industry… of unclean hearts lacks leadership worthy of the state of California,” she added. “He chose to demonize an industry that supports California’s economy and literally fuels people’s daily lives. I was stunned by its aggressiveness and inflammatory nature.”


October 5, 2023: A person uses a credit card to purchase gas at a Mobil gas station in Los Angeles, California, as gasoline fuel prices rise above average to above $7 per gallon and approach $8 per gallon. Customer to inject. (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
The new law was inspired by the state’s Office of Petroleum Market Oversight, which found that rising gas prices are primarily driven by rising global oil prices and unplanned refinery shutdowns. As of Monday, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in California was about $4.68, compared to the national average of $3.20, according to AAA.
Newsom said high gas prices are costing California billions of dollars a year, and he doesn’t want to wait for the industry to “do the right thing.”
Opponents of the law argue that increased government oversight of refinery maintenance schedules could unintentionally raise gas prices and threaten worker safety.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill at the state Capitol on Monday, October 14, 2024, aimed at preventing gasoline price gouging at the pump. (AP Photo/Sophie Austin) (AP Photo/Sophie Austin/AP Images)
Newsom announced the bill in August, during the final week of the regular legislative session. State lawmakers said they needed more time to consider the bill, and Newsom called the Legislature into a special session to try to pass it.
Rehuis-Boyd said oil prices could be lowered in a number of ways, including restarting shut-down pipelines and promoting an improved business environment to sustain the state’s refineries.
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“We’re sitting on one of the largest oil reserves in Kern County,” she said. “So when people say we need a Strategic Petroleum Reserve, I say, ‘We have it. It’s in Kern County. This governor issues production permits to producers. You can’t get oil out of the ground because you don’t allow ‘it.’
Mr. Newsom’s office declined to comment on Mr. Newsom’s remarks, saying they “speak for themselves.”