Profit Cap on California Refineries Placed on Hold for Now
A worker prepares a fuel refill hose at a gas station in Hercules, California, on June 30.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThe California Energy Commission delayed implementing a profit cap on refiners, the latest move by the state in softening its stance toward the oil and gas industry.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed State Bill X1-2 — known as the refiner margin cap bill — into law in March 2023, giving the commission sweeping powers to determine an acceptable profit margin for fuel makers and penalize those who exceed it. The legislation sought to mitigate price spikes for drivers who regularly pay the highest pump prices in the nation. But no penalties were ever levied.