The average price of a gallon of gas has officially surpassed $6 for the first time in California — and U.S. — history.
The Golden State set a new record Wednesday with an average per-gallon cost of $6.05, though the price climbed as high as $7 in remote Mono County, according to AAA. The national average, meanwhile, was nearly $1.50 cheaper at $4.56 per gallon.
Gov. Gavin Newsom — apparently sensing that skyrocketing inflation rates might top rising COVID rates on many Californians’ list of concerns — pivoted from vaccines to the soaring cost of living while speaking Wednesday at a Bakersfield clinic after receiving his second booster shot.
‘Excruciating’:This working-class California county has the most expensive gas in the nation
Said Newsom, who last week revealed the state has a nearly $100 billion budget surplus: “We are proposing an $18.1 billion additional package of relief … to address the pressures, the cost pressures, the inflationary pressures, that everybody’s feeling. …
We recognize the world we’re living in, the anxiety and stress so many people are facing,” added Newsom. “But this state is better positioned than any other state to address those issues head-on, and we look forward to making real on these promises … by finalizing budget negotiations with the Legislature and getting those checks out.”
Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk of Lancaster tweeted: “To use Gavin Newsom-style lingo, CA Democrats have left CA’s most vulnerable in petrol purgatory by dangling the promise of relief. Republicans have a plan to provide it NOW” by suspending the gas excise tax.
New Golden State stimulus?:California car owners could get up to an $800 rebate
Meanwhile, federal help may be on the way.
A closely divided House approved legislation Thursday to crack down on alleged price gouging by oil companies as prices at the pump continue to soar.
A bill backed by House Democrats would give President Joe Biden authority to declare an energy emergency that would make it unlawful to increase gasoline and home energy fuel prices in an “excessive” or exploitative manner. The bill directs the Federal Trade Commission to punish companies that engage in price gouging.
“Big Oil is price gouging families because they can,” said Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine., who co-sponsored the bill. “Enough is enough.”
The measure was approved, 217-207. It now goes to the Senate, where a similar bill is pending but faces steep odds amid a 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans.
“At a time when people across the country are feeling the pinch at the gas pump, Congress needs to be doing all it can to bring down costs for American families,″ said Rep. Kim Schrier, D-Wash., who co-sponsored the bill.
She called it “infuriating” that spikes in gas prices were “happening at the same time that gas and oil companies are making record profits and taking advantage of international crises to make a profit. This must stop.″
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
