During the same week that Gov. Gavin Newsom announced an emergency legislative session to fight the next Trump administration, a regulatory agency packed with his appointees voted to impose new low-carbon fuel standards. The 12-2 vote by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) will by its own previous estimates dramatically raise gas prices in a state with the second-highest prices in the nation. In our view, the two actions epitomize the dual nature of the Newsom administration. The governor has spent inordinate time visiting conservative states, sponsoring ad campaigns and touting California’s supposed defense of democracy and freedom. As he burnishes his national image, he seems to ignore the problems festering at home. California residents have long been concerned about the CARB regulation. The agency describes the Low Carbon Fuel Standard as “designed to encourage the use of cleaner low-carbon transportation fuels in California, encourage the production of those fuels, and therefore, reduce GHG [greenhouse-gas] emissions and decrease petroleum dependence in the transportation sector.” It’s stated goal is to reduce so-called “petroleum dependence,” which can be achieved by significantly raising the prices of petroleum products. However, top CARB officials have refused to answer direct questions from the media about whether it’s the state’s official policy to purposefully increase gasoline costs to encourage drivers to buy EVs. After the vote, those costs are likely to rise. A 2023 report by CARB officials “estimated last year that the new rules could raise the price of a gallon of gas by as much as 47 cents next year. By 2040, the added cost to the price per gallon could be $1.80, staff members estimated in their 2023 document,” per a Los Angeles Times report. After bad publicity, CARB officials backtracked from those numbers and haven’t offered new estimates. (The link to that original CARB document on the agency’s website no longer works.) CARB speakers at the Friday board meeting implausibly denied the strict standards would drive up prices. State officials really should stop treating citizens like idiots. Independent research last month by the University of Pennsylvania’s Kleinman Center for Energy Policy pinpointed the estimated price increases after “the regulator has distanced itself from its own initial assessment and even suggested it is not possible to project cost impacts going forward.” The center found “retail gasoline price impacts could be $0.65 per gallon in the near term, $0.85 per gallon by 2030, and nearly $1.50 per gallon by 2035.” Related Articles Editorials | Newsom needs to ditch the special session stunt, focus on fixing the mess he’s made of California Editorials | With Prop. 33 defeated, here’s what to do Editorials | Rent-control delusions won’t fix California housing mess. Here’s what to do instead. Editorials | Voters get practical on ballot measures Editorials | Donald Trump trounces Kamala Harris. Will Democrats learn anything? Newsom has been unusually quiet on the matter. Increasing the absurdity, he recently completed another special legislative session to deal with the “emergency” of rising gas prices, even though such prices are nothing new. They are the direct result of the state’s own climate and tax policies. Nothing comes without costs and benefits. The governor, Legislature and regulatory agencies use dire rhetoric about climate change, its threat to civilization and the need for costly policies to combat it. Instead of leveling with the public about the resulting cost, they blame corporate greed. When the public learns its government is the source of an underhanded gas-price hike, Newsom segues to his latest anti-Trump dog-and-pony show. The Trump administration will pose challenges to our state, but it’s time for California’s leaders to lead by example rather than by publicity stunts.