Gas storage bill is Newsom’s latest step backwards for president – Daily News

Immediately following Gov. Gavin Newsom’s rushed gas storage law, Newsom released a political campaign ad in a desperate attempt to stay relevant in 2028. Here’s what Newsom’s latest political stunt is all about, how it will hurt California, why he’s not fit to be governor, and will never be president of the United States.

On Monday, the California state legislature passed and Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1 (ABX2-1), which authorizes the California Energy Commission to require refineries to maintain an unspecified amount of gas and diesel supplies. As is typical in the Democrats’ 80% supermajority legislative session, it was rushed into law in a month, passing with minimal debate and barring vulnerable members from voting. If the ruling party actually wants something to happen, then it will do it.

ABX2-1 does not define the inventory that refineries must maintain. The Energy Commission proposed a 15-day supply to reduce price fluctuations in August, before the bill was tabled. The Legislative Analyst’s Office also had no analysis. Instead, Newsom turned to Democratic “experts” who couldn’t make legitimate statements without an amount. Not that analysis and debate matter in the current legislative session, and given that every State Commission appointee is a Democratic apparatchik. Nothing is independent or accountable.

Aside from the unlimited mandate, Newsom’s gas storage law will not physically work. The best comparison is the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve. The petroleum reserves store up to 714 million barrels of crude oil in salt caverns in Texas and Louisiana, a 90-day import supply. It is politically popular.

However, refined products such as gas and diesel cannot be stored underground. Most of California’s refineries are located in developed urban areas along the coast in Contra Costa and Los Angeles counties. Increased storage will either be impossible or parts of the Central Valley and Inland Empire will have to be reserved for fuel storage.

Refineries are unlikely to make capital investments in the hostile regulatory environment, nor will the state pay for its storage contract. Therefore, refiners will likely reduce their production to meet required inventory levels. Lower supply, same demand, fuel prices rise.

This affects transportation costs. As a result, food prices will rise and overall economic activity will decline. In the current economic climate, Californians will prioritize driving to work over all else, which will hurt the middle class and small businesses.

Additionally, gas and diesel are just two types of petroleum products that refineries produce. Others include asphalt, which will increase road costs for state and local governments. Building materials such as plastic pipes will increase or relocate to other states, increasing the cost of building homes and infrastructure.