A bill requiring oil refiners to disclose their per gallon profits monthly passed out of the California Assembly by a vote of 42 - 23.
The legislation has already passed out of the California Senate by a vote of 22 - 4 and goes back for concurrence.
SB 1322 (Allen) requires the oil refiners to disclose monthly their refining profits - the difference between average cost they pay for a barrel crude oil and the average price they charge for the finished barrel of gasoline. With 42 gallons in a barrel, the public will know exactly how much oil refiners make per gallon of gas in California. Californians are paying $1.25 more gallon for their gasoline than the average US driver. Environmental costs add about 60 cents per gallon.
"California drivers have had enough. SB 1322 will bring much-needed transparency to oil companies' true costs of doing business," said the bill's author Senator Ben Allen. "Consumers deserve to know how much oil refiners are making off their pain at the pump," said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog. "Recent quarterly profit reports suggest California oil refiners are pocketing more than $1 per gallon off the recent price spikes at the pump. That's unconscionable."
Refining margins are typical industry measures. Investor reports show California's refiners' Western region profit margins are through the roof. West Coast profits per gallon for Marathon topped an unprecedented $1 per gallon, as opposed to 34 cents in the second quarter of 2021. Valero, PBF, and Phillips reported profits of 83 cents, 82 cents, and 79 cents per gallon (as opposed to 27 cents, 15 cents, and 8 cents per gallon in second quarter last year). Chevron does not report quarterly refining margins.
"With this real-time information, lawmakers, regulators, and the public will be able to pinpoint periods of price gouging and respond to it," said Court.
