California needs to help drivers by lowering high gas prices. How to do it is complicated

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All it takes is a quick look at the prices on the sign outside the nearest gas station to believe that someone has declared war on California drivers. But the harder question to answer is figuring out exactly who is leading that fight.

The average cost of gasoline here has now soared to more than four dollars per gallon, well above the national average of about $2.60. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently ordered state Attorney General Xavier Becerra to conduct an investigation into those high prices, specifically pointing his finger at the state’s oil and gas suppliers for potential price-fixing and other types of market manipulation.

“Governor Newsom is right - if fossil fuel companies are gouging customers in California, they must be stopped,” said former state Senate President Kevin de Leon. “There is, however, a silver lining to this controversy… The pressure of high gas prices isn’t just an obstacle – it’s also an opportunity to drive a broader adoption of more affordable, renewable energy sources in California and across the nation.”

State Senator Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica, outlined several potential next steps in that direction.

“The legislature has a clear imperative to move forward with investing in public transportation infrastructure, planning for an influx of autonomous vehicles, sending clear market signals to encourage the production of affordable electric vehicles, and better aligning our housing and transportation policies to reduce the need to drive in the first place,” Allen said. “Just as we need to fight for consumers today, we also must ensure Californians have options beyond paying for gas at the pump, regardless of the price.”

Senior Newsom adviser Kate Gordon also emphasized the importance of expanding the availability of greener technologies for California commuters.

“The only way to get off this price roller coaster is to transition to cleaner vehicles and transportation options,” said Gordon, director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. “As we grow to 50 million people by 2050, we have to grow smart. It’s time to spend less time in cars and more time… breathing cleaner air, getting more exercise, and giving our extra dollars to more worthy causes than Big Oil.”

But several California influencers pointed to other causes of high gas prices, citing the state’s tax and regulatory policies.

“Sometimes, we blame and demonize and default to solutions that largely involve adding layer upon layer of costly regulatory programs on energy producers and others who power our economy,” said Western States Petroleum Association President Catherine Reheis-Boyd. “California’s regulatory environment plays the major role in the ever-increasing affordability challenges for consumers. The state’s numbers show $1.08 per gallon comes from taxes and California’s extensive regulatory regimen, such as the low carbon fuel standard.”

Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, was more emphatic.

“The most obvious thing we can do is reduce the high taxes on gasoline and modernize the regulatory requirements that do more than anything to raise the price for consumers.” Gallagher said. “But going a little deeper we could also incentivize the citing and building of more refineries which create good jobs and would help reduce delivery costs.”

Rob Stutzman, former communications director to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, recommended increased transparency to better educate voters.

“At a minimum, lawmakers should be willing the itemize gas receipts so motorists can see the amount of taxes and regulatory driven costs they’re paying at the pump,” Stutzman said. “No investigation needed.”

But California Sierra Club Director Kathryn Phillips argued that these additional costs paid for programs supported by state voters.

“We have some of the worst air pollution in the country and some of the fees charged per gallon of gasoline fund pollution cleanup efforts… Building and maintaining roads and bridges depends on another fee attached to each gallon of gasoline,” Phillips said. “Most drivers want smooth roads (and are frustrated by the lack of road maintenance) and clean air, so these added costs reflect what the public has said it wants.”

Former Los Angeles Times editor Jim Newton went a step further, suggesting that higher gas prices could accelerate the chance for more environmentally conscious transportation options.

“I’m not sure California should be much concerned with high gas prices. Pricing is an important tool in the development and spread of alternative, clean technologies,” said Newton, now at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs. “High gas prices coupled with federal, state and local incentives for renewables … will help develop the market for those products and move California and, ultimately, the world, away from fossil fuels.”

This story was originally published November 10, 2019 at 12:01 AM with the headline "California needs to help drivers by lowering high gas prices. How to do it is complicated."