Governor Newsom Pushes for New Watchdog of Oil Companies

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getty_031621_gavinnewsom

Gabrielle Lurie / POOL/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images

California Governor Gavin Newsom’s office is releasing the details of his proposal to punish big oil for their excessive profits. After being teased last week, the plan is now in print. Newsom wants to empower a yet-to-be-established watchdog group within the California Energy Commission to go after big oil for the state’s high gas prices. The group would monitor California’s petroleum market on a daily basis to ensure oil companies play by the rules. They would also have subpoena power to compel company data which could reveal patterns of misconduct or price manipulation. Violations would be referred to the Attorney General’s office. This comes after state lawmakers and energy analysts could not come up with a strategy to address the high gas costs and how to penalize oil company profits.