The Senate gaveled in this week for a special session to consider Governor Gavin Newsom’s bill on gas price spikes. But the chamber has decided not to take up an accompanying measure on E15.
Assembly Bill X2-9 would have required the California Air Resources Board to adopt a new regulation on the ethanol blend by next summer. Fuel producers have long pushed the agency to approve the blend, decrying the sluggish pace of its scientific review process.
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Yet lawmakers, seeking ways to reduce prices at the pumps for their voters, glommed on to the potential benefits of E15. Assemblymember David Alvarez, D-San Diego, viewed it as “one of the easiest steps we can take” to lower prices and reduce emissions. The bill gained unanimous support in the Assembly.
Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire, who was eager to take up Newsom’s bill in the harried final hours of session, took a more cautious approach with E15. He called for a more thorough analysis of the issue and said the bill still needed work.
CARB is wrapping up its review and looks to begin the regulatory process soon, meaning it could approve E15 next year after all.
