Gov. Newsom takes a swing at alleged gas price gouging

SAN FRANCISCO -- It's being tabbed as the nation's first Big Oil watchdog. California lawmakers passed a bill to have a commission investigate the oil industry.

Gas experts are hoping the commission will get to the bottom of the $40 billion mystery tax that drivers have paid since 2015.

This newly formed commission will not focus on the day-to-day movement of gas price but the big picture on why Californians are paying so much more in general.

Vyney Olivera has to gas up to make a living. He delivers for Door Dash. When prices go up, it has an impact on his bottom line.

"I feel like sad because of the price is low, I earn more," he told KPIX. "If the price is high, I pay more for gasoline and the price of delivery is the same."

To protect consumers like Vyney, the state legislature approved a bill to form a commission to investigate the oil industry.

Severin Borenstein, with the Energy Institute at Haas at UC Berkeley, hopes this will solve the cause of what he calls the mystery tax. He says Californians are paying an average of 40 cents per gallon more for gas and there's no explanation.

 "I think the bigger issue is the overall effect that we are on average paying a lot more than we were before 2015 and getting to the bottom of that," Borenstein said.

While it might cost  $10 to $20 million to form this commission, Borenstein says it's only a small slice of the mystery tax.

 "We're spending $4 to 6 billion a year extra in gasoline that's not explained," he said. "I think this is money well spent."

Vyney Olivera isn't quite sure what kind of impact the commission will have. In the meantime, he's taking the steps he can to save as much money as possible.

"It's a hybrid car so it's the cheapest," he said of his vehicle.

Prices at the pump have seen an increase of late and Borenstein says there is no real explanation to why they have gone up. There are signs though that the increase has started to level off.