California Governor Investigates Gas Prices

The cost of gasoline appears to be rising in the Treasure Valley.  The Gem State is not the only state where rising gas prices have begun to take their toll on hard working residents.   With California's gas prices as much as 30 cents higher than the rest of the country, it should be no surprise that the state's residents aren't happy about shelling out the extra cash to fill their tanks. And Governor Gavin Newsom is one of them.

In fact, he's so unhappy that he asked the California Attorney General's Office on Monday to launch an investigation into the spiking per-gallon prices to see if there's something fishy going on. "Simply stated, name-brand gas retail outlets in California are charging more for a gallon of gas compared to their unbranded, hypermart competitors," Newsom wrote in a letter to state Attorney General Xavier Becerra. "There is no identifiable evidence to justify these premium prices."

According to the California Energy Commission, in 2018 the state's drivers spent $1.5 billion more on gas than motorists in other states. A report released by the commission notes there's no difference between the quality of gasoline in California compared to gas in the other 49 states. "The name-brand stations, therefore, are charging higher prices for what appears to be the same product," the report concludes.

Can you come up with a valid reason that gas would cost more in California? Should the government be more involved in encouraging people to switch to electric vehicles?