California legislators in stalemate over governor's special session focusing on gas prices
SACRAMENTO – A stalemate at the California State Capitol and Democrats are divided over a special session focused on California oil companies and allegations of price spikes.
The Governor ordered the special session and the state senate did not show up, refusing to follow the order. It's the first time it's ever happened in state history.
Gov. Gavin Newsom seemed to play it cool, as he presided over this unusual California Constitutional crisis.
"And I applaud and appreciate the joint statements from the speaker as well as the pro Tem, who I met with over an hour last night," Newsom said.
The problem is the pro Tempore, District 2 Senator Mike McGuire, says he will not follow the governor's order to convene the state senate for a special session.
"The Governor has the authority to be able to call a special session…The legislature has the authority per the constitution to bring us into session," McGuire said in a statement.
David Carrillo is the executive director of the California Constitution Center and interprets the Constitution as reading the Senate must convene.
"It definitely does say the Governor has the power to call a special session, but it's silent on what happens if the legislature does not then convene it," Carrillo said.
State library spokesperson Alex Vassar says this is the first time a legislative body has defied a Governor's order to convene a special session since the 1880s.
"This situation is pretty unique," Vassar said. "I have studied the legislature for 25 years now and this is something we have not encountered before."
The Governor called the special session to focus on California oil companies and allegations of price spikes. It's legislation McGuire says he had the votes to pass during the regular session.
Republican Senator Roger Niello is waiting to see what happens next.
"There just seems to be some missteps," Niello said. "I can't say that I take any joy in it, it disrupts the institution."
"Wouldn't someone want to take this opportunity to define what should happen," CBS13's Steve Large asked Carrillo.
"Potentially, or hopefully, you could look at this as an outlier, it's a one off and having learned from this everyone will say let's never do that again," Carrillo said.
Carrillo said the Constitution doesn't call this a criminal act and there it makes no mention of how to enforce a legislative body to convene. He said there needs to be a political compromise.
