California Governor Gavin Newsom’s proposal to penalize oil companies for alleged price gouging is headed to his desk after passage in the legislature. The bill was approved Monday in the Assembly on a vote of 52-to-19. It passed the Senate late last week. Under the plan, a watchdog within the California Energy Commission will have authority to examine inside oil company data to look for patterns of price manipulation. It would also be able to set profit limits and penalties for exceeding the cap. Newsom is expected to sign the bill later this week. He called it a “big day for consumers,” and “a big day for Mother Nature.”
