What has Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) got against oil and gas producers?
The radical left California legislature passed a bill, which Newsom signed on Tuesday, that forces refineries to keep a certain amount of oil on hand at all times in order to prevent the price of gasoline from rising during times that the refineries must shut down for maintenance.
Newsom accused the trade group representing the refineries, the Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA), of spreading "mistruths" and engaging in "manipulation."
"Particularly WSPA and their talking points and big oil that knowingly continues to lie to the people," Newsom said while flanked by lawmakers in Sacramento. "They are the polluted part of this climate crisis. They continue to lie and they continue to manipulate."
"This is literally politics above policy," WSPA President and CEO Catherine Reheis-Boyd told FOX Business. "To have his attacks, which were filled with personal insults, only serves to divide, not address the real issues that we're trying to deal with."
"To call the hard-working men and women of this industry… polluted hearts is just beneath the leadership that California deserves," she added. "He chose to demonize an industry that powers California's economy and literally fuels everybody's daily lives. I was taken aback by the aggressiveness and the inflammatory nature."
Reheis-Boyd shouldn't be surprised. Newsom is an expert at pointing fingers at others when he sees the problem every day when he wakes up and looks in the mirror.
The ABx2-1 bill was inspired by the anti-business agency, the Division of Petroleum Market Oversight. It discovered that gas price hikes are mainly caused by "increases in global crude oil prices and unplanned refinery outages," according to Fox Business. State regulators will be looking over the refinery's shoulders to maintain that the required amount of product is on hand at all times.
The average price for a gallon of gas in California is $4.68 compared to the nationwide average of $3.20.
Opponents of the law have said it could unintentionally raise gas prices and threaten the safety of workers by giving the state more oversight over refinery maintenance schedules.
Newsom unveiled the legislation in August, during the last week of the regular legislative session. State Assembly lawmakers said they needed more time to consider the bill and Newsom called the Legislature into a special session to pass it.
Reheis-Boyd said the cost of crude oil can be lowered through a variety of ways, including by re-opening pipelines that have been shut down and promoting a better business climate to keep refineries in the state.
"We are sitting on one of the biggest reserves of oil in Kern County," she said. "So when people say we need a strategic petroleum reserve, I say ‘We have one. It’s in Kern County. We can't get the oil out of the ground because this governor won't allow permits to be issued to producers to produce it."
And there you have it. The oil is right there under Newsom's feet, but he won't issue permits to drill because (Choose one): 1) he's anti-fossil fuels; 2) he likes high gas prices; 3) he's anti-business; and 4) all of the above.
Not much of a quiz, I admit, when everyone knows the answer is #4.
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