My Plan to Lower Gas Prices

Oil companies use global crises, like the current war in Iran, to panic the market and justify predatory pricing at home. As governor, I won’t let them use international conflicts as an excuse to gouge working families.

I’ll direct the California Energy Commission (CEC) to activate the "maximum gross refining margin" penalty. This will use the state's existing executive authority to establish a hard, legal ceiling on exactly how much profit refineries are allowed to make off a gallon of gas.

If oil corporations violate this cap, the state will penalize them and legally confiscate their excess profits. Every dollar collected from Big Oil’s illegal markups will be returned directly to Californians as a rebate to help offset the rising cost of living.

For too long, Big Oil has used their monopoly power to artificially inflate prices, costing Californians an extra $59 billion since 2015.

I’ll attack the “mystery gas surcharge” enabled by Big Oil’s monopoly control over gas pricing. And I’ll work with the Attorney General to launch an official investigation as to why Californians are charged more compared to the rest of the United States.

If needed, the State of California will force testimony and subpoena internal corporate communications, refinery maintenance schedules, and spot-market trading data to expose instances of collusion.

California drivers pay higher taxes to fill up their cars than billionaires pay to fill up their private jets. That’s not right. If you have enough money to fly privately, we will tax you appropriately.

I’ll double the tax on private jet fuel and invest this revenue to directly benefit California communities and infrastructure.

Much of the world’s clean technology is invented in California. Let’s use it to liberate ourselves from the current, corrupt federal government and its Big Oil allies.

True energy independence means liberating California families from the gas pump. That’s why I’ll launch a massive state "Cash for Clunkers" program to help everyday Californians affordably trade in their older, expensive-to-run gas vehicles for clean alternatives. I’ll triple the state’s EV tax credit to $600 million, ensuring working and middle-class households can actually afford the transition to the latest electric vehicle technology.

I’ll also fundamentally restructure our power grid, which utilities weaponize to block innovation. By acting like monopolies, utilities force Californians to pay the second-highest electricity rates in the country. I’ll cut household electricity costs by 25 percent by adding competition, ending double-digit guaranteed returns to utility companies, and slashing red tape to quickly get clean energy projects off the ground.

See my full plan to lower electric bills here.

Bil Oil uses their control of our state’s oil supply to gouge Californians and slow our energy transition. As electric vehicles become cheaper, faster, and better than traditional combustion engines, they will inevitably gain more market share. But inevitably, Big Oil will shut down refineries to keep gas supplies short and prices high.

I’ll step in to protect affordability for California households by making sure consumers are protected from supply shortages.

Over the short term, I’ll expand California’s state strategic petroleum reserves to use in times of economic crisis and stop Big Oil from strong-arming Californians with the threat of gas shortages.

Over the long-term, I’ll work with the California Energy Commission and other policy leaders to create an “affordability first framework” to avoid future supply shortages and price spikes.

My plan tackles the corporate greed that has kept Californians under the thumb of Big Oil for decades, while also creating a roadmap to true energy independence. As governor, I will unlock a cheaper, faster, and better energy future for our state—one that frees us from the orchestrations of Big Oil and their war mongering patrons in Washington, and empowers us to dictate our own destiny.