Assembly Expects to Start Special Session Hearings on Energy Prices in Next Few Weeks Amid Senate Standoff

Updated 4 p.m. Sunday

Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) said Saturday night that the Assembly plans to begin hearings in a special session aimed at lowering energy costs in the next few weeks.

“We anticipate to start this work with urgency very quickly,” Rivas said to reporters at the Capitol Saturday night.

Gov. Gavin Newsom called (PDF) the Legislature into special session Saturday evening after lawmakers failed to pass a series of energy bills meant to reduce the cost of power for Californians and require oil refiners to maintain a reserve supply in an effort to prevent price spikes at the pump.

But the process was plunged into chaos when, just minutes after Newsom announced the special session, state Senate President pro Tem Mike McGuire, (D-Healdsburg), said the Senate would not participate.

“We won’t be convening a special session this fall, but we look forward to continuing conversations with the Governor and Speaker about this critical issue in the days and weeks to come,” he said in a statement.

His office argued that Newsom can call a special session but it is up to the Legislature to convene it. Meanwhile, Newsom’s team maintained that the session has already begun.

“It should be common sense for gas refineries to plan ahead and backfill supplies when they go down for maintenance to avoid price spikes,” Newsom said in a statement Saturday. “But these price spikes are actually profit spikes for Big Oil, and they’re using the same old scare tactics to maintain the status quo.”

The special session began Saturday and is required to adjourn no later than November 30, according to the governor’s office. With the Senate declining to participate, the fate of the proposals remains unclear.

After the special session was announced, Rivas quickly reiterated his support in a statement released by his office on Saturday. His chamber declined to pass the bills by the end of session this weekend.

“Since my early days as a County Supervisor, I’ve been fighting against Big Oil. Companies can’t be allowed to rake-in billions of dollars in oil profits while hard-working Californians pay record prices at the pump,” he said. “My absolute priority is lowering the cost of living, and I appreciate the Governor calling a special session to reign-in soaring gas prices.”

California recently launched an oil industry watchdog to root out price manipulation in the oil market. Last September, gas prices surged across California to nearly $6 a gallon, which the state blamed, in part, on refiners not maintaining supply.

Newsom wants the Legislature to pass reforms, which include a requirement that refineries store a minimum amount of reserve gas. The state’s energy commission has warned that if refineries go offline without an adequate reserve, then oil and gas inventories drop and that leads to price spikes at the pump.

Industry groups and trade associations have said the Newsom administration’s plan could lead to higher gas prices in this state.

Also on the table are a series of other bills that would reduce the cost of electricity by giving one-time credits of at least $30 to most Californian ratepayers, legislation that would streamline renewable energy development and increase oversight of wildfire mitigation spending.