"We consistently pay $1 to $1.50 more for our gasoline and there's no good reason for it," says Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court. 

Californias are being treated as an ATM by oil refiners and Consumer Watchdog applauds the Governor calling for an investigation into this potential price gouging of consumers. 

Governor Newsom is asking Attorney General Becerra to open an investigation into potential gas price fixing by oil companies in California as Californias pay the highest price in the country at the pump. Consumer Watchdog applauds his request for scrutiny of this long-term price manipulation and how the Golden State Gouge affects drivers. 

In a letter to Governor Newsom, Consumer Watchdog and FracTracker called on the Governor to freeze all new oil and gas well permits until a top-to-bottom ethics review is completed, all conflicted regulators within DOGGR are removed, and the Administration can guarantee regulatory decisions are based on public safety, not pecuniary gain.

“For too long the health of our community has suffered from dirty oil wells at the Inglewood oil field,” said Deborah Weinrauch, a resident of Culver City. “We cannot afford to keep having more drilling and fracking. In order to protect our health we need Governor Newsom to stop issuing new permits.” 

The gas tax kicks in on July 1st in California and is expected to generate $50 billion for repairs to roads and infrastructure. Consumer Watchdog President argues that these repairs should be paid for by the excess profits of oil refiners that have been gouging Californians for decades.