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Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) is demanding that Governor Gavin Newsom immediately take responsibility and act to stop the devastating refinery closures that are crushing working families across California.
“Governor Newsom’s extreme energy agenda is punishing the very people he claims to fight for,” said Senator Alvarado-Gil. “Middle-class families are being hit hardest — struggling to afford gas, keep their jobs, and put food on the table. His policies are ripping away their livelihoods. If gas prices keep rising, every aspect of daily life will be impacted.”
While the closures are taking place in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, Senator Alvarado-Gil exposed the broader consequences for middle-class Californians across the state - including higher fuel prices, supply chain strain, and the loss of thousands of good-paying jobs.
In a joint letter to the governor, the Senator Alvarado-Gil called for a more realistic approach to the state’s energy transition:
- Maintaining current refining capacity during the transition to cleaner energy
- Streamlining regulatory processes to reduce uncertainty
- Supporting job protection and workforce development, especially in vulnerable communities
- Rewarding innovation rather than penalizing existing energy producers
Senator Alvarado-Gil also called on the Newsom Administration to conduct a full review of state and regulatory actions that may be accelerating refinery closures, and to ensure transparency in how such decisions are made.
“Let’s be clear: these closures are not accidents — they are the result of deliberate choices made by this governor. This isn’t a transition, it’s an abandonment. It’s elitism. And I won’t stand by while hard working families are sacrificed for political points,” Alvarado-Gil concluded.
Click HERE to read the full letter.