Gov. Newsom Calls For Investigation Into High Gas Prices

It just doesn't make any sense does it.

After supporting the gas tax bill in 2017 and then opposing the ballot initiative to repeal the gas tax increase in 2018, Gov. Newsom is suddenly wondering why California's gas prices are so damn high.

On Tuesday, the governor sent a letter to the California Energy Commission (CEC) asking that the state agency investigate the Golden State's roughly $4.03 per gallon gas prices, currently the highest in the country (and well above the national average of $2.86 per gallon), Reason reports.

"Independent analysis suggests that an unaccounted-for price differential exists in California's gas prices and that this price differential may stem in part from inappropriate industry practices," Newsom wrote in his letter to the CEC. "These are all important reasons for the Commission to help shed light on what's going on in our gasoline market."

Well Newsom, maybe gas prices are rising because of the, I don't know, GAS TAX INCREASE? The same gas tax that charges an extra 46.7 cents a gallon!

It doesn't stop there though.

Seventeen state legislators who voted in favor of the 2017 gas tax increase also sent a letter to State Attorney General Xavier Becerra demanding that California's DOJ investigate the "unexplained gasoline surcharge."

However, industry representatives maintain that any difference in the state's gas prices can be explained by normal market forces, and of course all those taxes and regulations, duh.

If you can read more without getting too angry, head here.

Photo: Getty Images


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