California lawmakers to meet, eye big oil's high gas prices

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Furious about oil companies' supersized profits after a summer of record-high gas prices, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday will formally start his campaign to punish big producers by asking the Legislature to fine them and give the money back to drivers.

State lawmakers will briefly return to the state Capitol on Monday to swear in new members and elect leaders for the 2023 legislative session. But this year, Newsom also has called lawmakers into a special session for the purpose of approving a penalty for oil companies when their profits pass a certain threshold.

It's bound to be a popular proposal with voters, who have been paying more than $6 per gallon of gasoline for much of the year. But the big question is how the measure will be received by California lawmakers, especially since the oil industry is one of the state's top lobbyists and campaign donors.

Adding to the uncertainty is an unusually high number of new members who will take seats in the Legislature for the first time. More than a quarter of the Legislature's 120 members could be new, depending on the outcome of a few close races where county officials are still counting votes.

“It's kind of like the first day of school and you get this big ethics test about a job that you've never had,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group that has partnered with the Newsom administration to back the gas proposal.

Among the state Senate's new members is Angelique Ashby, a Democrat who narrowly won her seat following an intense campaign. The oil industry spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on radio and TV ads supporting Ashby's campaign, a trend noticed by critics who tried to use it against her.

In an interview, Ashby said she hasn't been approached...