Legislation would be triggered by state of emergency and include gas price hikes
By Alyse DiNapoli, THE DAILY JOURNAL
A bill to stop price gouging during times of war or conflict was introduced by two state senators, including Josh Becker, D-Menlo Park, a move meant to target high gas prices.
The state already has price gouging laws on the books, though, it’s currently limited to emergencies arising from natural disasters or other circumstances unrelated to war and geopolitical conflict.
Senate Bill 493 would expand eligibility to include conflicts such as the war with Iran.
“Since the war started, it’s cost Californians over $3 billion out of their pockets on top of what they’re already paying for oil and gas,” Becker said.
The governor would have to declare a state of emergency to trigger the protections. Under the state’s current price gouging laws, no individual or business can sell gas “for a price of more than 10% greater than the price charged by that person or business immediately before the declaration of an emergency,” according to a recent press release, unless the business can prove the increase is directly attributable to incurred costs.
The legislation was largely motivated by increased fuel prices, however, it could include other goods and commodities, Becker said. According to data from Consumer Watchdog, gasoline prices (opens in new tab) since the beginning of March have been $1.50 higher per gallon in California, a long, 13-week stretch. In 2025, the gap between California and national gas prices exceeded $1.50 only two weeks during the entire year and four weeks in 2024, an analysis showed.
“We know their April profits were $1.24 per gallon, and they were 49 cents in January,” Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court said. “Every indication is that profits are going up in price at a far greater rate than their costs are going up.”
Regulations limiting oil companies’ profits have seen mixed success in recent years. In 2022, Senate Bill 1322 started requiring oil refineries to publicly report their monthly volume and price information, including profit margins. The next year, another piece of legislation authorized the California Energy Commission to set a “maximum gross refining margin” and impose penalties for noncompliance, among other provisions. However, the commission decided to hold off on setting a cap.
“Less than a year ago, the California Energy Commission determined that a price gouging penalty … would further negatively impact fuel supply and consumer costs,” Western States Petroleum Association spokesperson Jim Stanley said via email. “Repackaging a bad idea does not suddenly make it good policy. As California has become increasingly dependent on imported fuels, imposing an arbitrary price cap would make us a less attractive market, risking shortages of the energy our economy depends on.”
Becker said the newly introduced legislation is more narrow in scope, giving it a higher chance of success.
“I hope there is not another conflict in the Middle East, but there easily could be, and we need to make sure California consumers are protected in that case,” he said.
A previous version of the bill was introduced last year, with the amended version finalized earlier in June, and is currently in the Assembly Public Safety Committee. The bill was also introduced with state Sen. Ben Allen, D-Santa Monica.
