SB 1245 will help stabilize California’s gasoline supply, help keep gas prices in check, and generate funding to invest in clean transportation.
California’s unique gasoline standard is known as CARBOB — California Reformulated Gasoline Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending — and it’s cleaner than any other federal or state standards. However, when a refinery experiences an unplanned outage, sourcing replacement CARBOB from out of state can take several weeks, leaving consumers bearing the brunt of price spikes while refineries’ profits soar.
California already has a tool to bring fuel in quickly in an emergency: an existing but underutilized emergency fuel standards waiver process at the California Air Resources Board (CARB). CARB can grant waivers permitting the temporary sale of non-CARBOB gasoline with a fee to mitigate associated emissions. SB 1245 would establish new regulations within CARB’s waiver process to require gasoline sellers to protect consumers from price spikes associated with supply disruptions.
Full bill text and more information.
Committee Status: SB 1245 is in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Bill author
