The California Assembly passed ABX2-1, a bill requiring the state’s oil refineries to maintain gasoline reserves to prevent sudden price spikes at the gas pump. 

However, the analysis of the legislation shows that it will lead to higher gas prices. 

There is no current infrastructure to hold and store all the gasoline, so the cost of building it and having it will be passed on to all drivers. 

The bill, backed by Governor Gavin Newsom, was approved with a 44-17 vote and now heads to the state Senate. 

Senate President Mike McGuire previously stated the chamber would not meet in a special session this fall, but now they are taking it up this week. 

The bill’s author, Assemblymember Gregg Hart, acknowledges that it might be amended in the Senate due to concerns about the potential impact on refinery worker safety. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas expects the Assembly to reconvene soon for a final vote.

Newsom initially pushed for the bill to pass in August, but lawmakers delayed it, calling for more public hearings to explore the impact on California’s gasoline market fully. 

Democrats who opposed the measure, including Jasmeet Bains and Esmeralda Soria, cited concerns over worker safety and questioned whether it would effectively reduce gas prices. Republicans echoed these concerns, pointing out that the proposal doesn’t address California’s high gas prices.

Economists and other opponents, including the oil industry, argue that Governor Newsom’s gas program will increase costs for refineries and that cost will mean high gas prices.