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Adopted Rulemaking:
EV Charger Recordkeeping and Reporting, Reliability, and Data Sharing Requirements
The California Office of Administrative Law recently adopted the EV Charger Recordkeeping and Reporting, Reliability, and Data Sharing Requirements, which will go into effect on April 1, 2026. Please review this preliminary toolkit to understand the reporting requirements that apply.
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CFCA Joins Coalition Opposing SB 982
Last week, CFCA joined a coalition of more than two dozen California business, taxpayer and industry organizations submitting a letter to state lawmakers opposing SB 982 (Wiener), warning that the proposal would drastically increase energy and household costs for consumers and unleash speculative climate litigation.
Joining the coalition ensures our members and industry's voice is represented in the debate over policies that could significantly raise operating costs and increase legal exposure for businesses across California. By working alongside a broad coalition of business and taxpayer advocates, CFCA is actively pushing back against policies that threaten affordability for consumers and create new risks for our members’ ability to operate and serve their communities.
➤ Click here to view the full coalition letter submitted to the Legislature
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Oil Market Report - March 2026
March 12, 2026
The war in the Middle East is creating the largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market. With crude and oil product flows through the Strait of Hormuz plunging from around 20 mb/d before the war to a trickle currently, limited capacity available to bypass the crucial waterway, and storage filling up, Gulf countries have cut total oil production by at least 10 mb/d. In the absence of a rapid resumption of shipping flows, supply losses are set to increase.
Global oil supply is projected to plunge by 8 mb/d in March, with curtailments in the Middle East partly offset by higher output from non-OPEC+ producers, Kazakhstan and Russia following disruptions at the start of the year. While the extent of losses will depend on the duration of the conflict and disruptions to flows, we estimate global oil supply to rise by 1.1 mb/d in 2026 on average, with non-OPEC+ producers accounting for the entire increase.
The conflict is also having a significant impact on global product markets, with export flows through the Strait at a near standstill…
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Bill Aims to Expand E85 Access for Drivers as Gas Prices Surge in California
March 13, 2026
As gas prices rise in California in the midst of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, a San Joaquin County lawmaker is looking to ease prices at the pump by helping drivers add E85 conversion kits to their vehicles
E85 fuel is a high-ethanol blend available at gas stations nationwide and is generally cheaper than gasoline.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), there aren’t many differences between E85 and gasoline other than that E85 tends to burn faster, so drivers may get fewer miles per gallon.
Bipartisan legislation, proposed by Asm. Rhodesia Ransom, would open the market for EPA-approved conversion kits by exempting them from the additional California Air Resources Board's emission standards.
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Citing Iran Crisis, Trump Order Santa Barbara Oil Pipeline Restart. California Will Fight It.
March 13, 2026
The Trump administration invoked emergency powers under the Defense Production Act Friday, ordering the restart of the Santa Ynez offshore oil platform and pipeline along the Santa Barbara County coast that was shuttered after a spill released thousands of barrels of crude into the Pacific 11 years ago.
The move, which comes in response to skyrocketing fuel prices in the wake of the Iran conflict, brought an immediate threat to sue by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The order also marks the most aggressive federal intervention yet in a yearslong dispute. On one side is the Trump administration and Sable Offshore Corp., a Houston-based startup that has been trying to restart the pipeline. On the other are California officials and environmental groups who oppose the effort.
Sable, which bought the system from ExxonMobil in 2024, has told investors that production could increase from about 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to more than 50,000 if the system restarts, sending oil to refineries in Los Angeles, Bakersfield and the Bay Area…
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The Golden State Gasoline Gambit
March 11, 2026
Republicans have spent years hammering Gavin Newsom for California’s high gas prices. Now, the Democratic governor is seizing a sudden opening to shift the blame to President Donald Trump as the war in Iran sends oil costs skyward.
“Taking a victory lap on ‘LOWEST EVER’ gas prices, then calling Americans ‘FOOLS’ for worrying about his war with Iran raising prices? Donald Trump is a con man with no plan and failing the American people,” Newsom wrote in a Monday social media post.
And that’s just a taste of the gasoline price grenades Newsom has tossed at Trump this week.
The White House has fired back.
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CAP THE GAS PRICES
March 11, 2026
CARB is making it to the campaign trail.
San Jose mayor and 2026 gubernatorial candidate Matt Mahan joined fellow gubernatorial candidate and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in criticizing the California Air Resources Board’s proposed cap-and-trade rules on Wednesday. The two are running in relatively moderate lanes compared to the rest of the field.
In a video posted to X, Mahan called the rules “new mandates that would make gas even more expensive and our climate even more polluted” by driving in-state refineries out of business and increasing reliance on imported fuel. His backdrop: a gas station where prices are currently spiking.
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California Court Nixes Approval of Long Beach Oil Storage Project
March 11, 2026
As gas prices rise in California in the midst of the U.S.-Israel war with Iran, a San Joaquin County lawmaker is looking to ease prices at the pump by helping drivers add E85 conversion kits to their vehicles
E85 fuel is a high-ethanol blend available at gas stations nationwide and is generally cheaper than gasoline.
According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), there aren’t many differences between E85 and gasoline other than that E85 tends to burn faster, so drivers may get fewer miles per gallon.
Bipartisan legislation, proposed by Asm. Rhodesia Ransom, would open the market for EPA-approved conversion kits by exempting them from the additional California Air Resources Board's emission standards.
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U.S. to Release 172 million Barrels of Oil from Strategic Reserve to Combat Energy Price Hike
March 11, 2026
The Trump administration said Wednesday the U.S. will release 172 million barrels of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, its boldest attempt yet to bring down oil prices that have spiked since the U.S. launched its war against Iran.
“We’ll do that, and then we’ll fill it up,” President Donald Trump told Cincinnati news station Local 12 in an interview Wednesday afternoon. “I filled it up once, and I’ll fill it up again. But right now, we’ll reduce it a little bit, and that brings the prices down.”
Energy Secretary Chris Wright announced later Wednesday that the drawdowns would begin next week and take about 120 days.
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SCORCHED EARTH
March 12, 2026
The Trump administration isn’t satisfied with just revoking California’s gas car phase-out; it wants to wipe out any remnant of the state’s tailpipe greenhouse emissions rules.
The Justice Department sued California on Thursday, arguing that the state’s 2012 regulations — which, to be clear, the auto industry has already met — are preempted under federal law. The move comes after Trump’s rollback last year of California’s 2022 rules, which set a target of 100 percent EV and plug-in sales starting in 2035.
The 2012 rules, which California restored last year, set a target of about 8 percent electric and plug-in hybrid sales.
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White House Considers Loosening Shipping Rule in Bid to Lower Fuel Prices
March 12, 2026
The Trump administration is considering loosening shipping rules in an effort to lower fuel prices, which have surged as a result of the war in Iran.
In particular, the administration is considering issuing a temporary waiver of the Jones Act, a 100-year-old law that requires shipping between U.S. ports to be done by U.S.-flagged ships.
“In the interest of national defense, the White House is considering waiving the Jones Act for a limited period of time to ensure vital energy products and agricultural necessities are flowing freely to U.S. ports. This action has not been finalized,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that was shared with The Hill.
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California Passed a Law to Curb Spikes in Gas Prices. Why isn't it Using Those Powers Now?
March 13, 2026
Three years ago, California built a first-in-the-nation system aimed at protecting drivers when oil markets turn calamitous. The Legislature passed it. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed it. He proclaimed “California took on Big Oil and won.”
Its author, then-Sen. Nancy Skinner called it a “landmark law” that “will allow us to hold oil companies accountable if they pad their profits at the expense of hard-working families.”
But the law — which gave regulators the power to cap refinery profits and penalize oil companies for price gouging — has never been used. Instead, last year, the California Energy Commission voted to delay the rules for five years. Skinner – who wrote the law as a Senator – was absent when her own commission voted to delay it.
Now, with gas topping $5.30 a gallon statewide, that decision is under a new spotlight. The Iran war has sent global oil prices soaring — but the war is only part of the story. California has a structural problem: fewer refineries, a captive market and no easy outside supply options. When prices rise nationally, they can rise even more here.
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Car Shoppers Paying More Attention to EVs as Gas Prices Rise, Edmunds Data Shows
March 11, 2026
Escalating geopolitical tensions involving Iran are beginning to affect fuel prices across the United States. According to data from AAA, the national average price for a gallon of regular gasoline climbed to $3.54 on March 10, up 43 cents from $3.11 just one week earlier. In California, average prices have jumped even more sharply, rising about 62 cents over the past week to $5.29 per gallon.
It’s difficult to predict how long fuel prices may remain elevated, but sharp increases at the pump have historically influenced how drivers think about their next vehicle.
Edmunds on-site shopping data offers an early look at how car shoppers may be responding…
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California Bill Targets Toxic Chemicals in Receipts to Protect Workers, Shoppers
March 11, 2026
California on Tuesday advanced a bill that would ban industrial, hormone-disrupting chemicals from receipts.
During a hearing of the Assembly Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, lawmakers unanimously voted to advance AB 1604, a bill that would restrict the use of BPA, or bisphenol A, starting in 2027 and BPS, or bisphenol S — a common BPA substitute — starting in 2028.
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The Iran War is Roiling More Than Oil
March 13, 2026
President Donald Trump’s military campaign against Iran could snarl the global flow of chemicals needed to make everything from critical minerals and EV batteries to fertilizers and cleaning supplies.
The escalating conflict in recent days has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passageway for oil and gas from the Persian Gulf. The waterway off Iran’s coast plays a crucial role in the global economy, and experts have warned it could take weeks to reopen and return to prewar traffic.
But the strait is more than a choke point for oil.
It’s also a critical pathway for a byproduct of oil and gas production: sulfur. Ships moving through the strait carry 24 percent of the world’s sulfur, a feedstock for sulfuric acid used to make metals like nickel and copper, as well as fertilizer and household cleaning products. Now that flow has screeched to a halt.
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California gas prices will jump under climate revisions, industry warns
March 4, 2026
The potential revisions will raise costs for independent fuel retailers, the California Fuels and Convenience Alliance said in a letter to the program regulator, the California Air Resources Board.
“Higher compliance costs translate directly into increased fuel prices — and the effects can be staggering,“ the trade group for fuel sellers and convenience store operators said in a comment on the agency’s draft changes to system rules.
Pump prices could increase by up to 15 cents per gallon between 2027 and 2030 depending on cost increases for fuel product sellers, Gebriel Saleh, the trade group’s senior policy analyst, said in an email.
| | We want to highlight and thank our current top contributors of 2026! | | |
5 Star Contributors
Pearson Fuels
Valley Pacific Petroleum Services, Inc.
Robinson Oil Corporation
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2-4 Star Contributors
Amber Resources
AU Energy & Loop Neighborhood Markets
Boyett Petroleum
Ed Staub & Sons Petroleum, Inc.
EG America
FLYERS Energy, LLC
Greg's Petroleum Service, Inc.
InterState Oil Company
Jeffries Bros., Inc.
National Wholesale Fuels - Circle K Stores, Inc.
Ramos Oil
Rinehart Oil, Inc.
Roche Oil, Inc.
Tooley Oil Company
Valley Oil Company
Van De Pol Enterprises, Inc.
Western States Oil Co.
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Stay Connected With Your Local Chapter!
As a CFCA Member, you're automatically part of one of our Local Chapters, established to help us better advocate for and engage with our members on the issues that matter most at the city and county level.
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Don't forget to join us on the BAND app, where you can stay up to date on the latest alerts for your region. For any questions, contact Bryan Lam, at bryan@cfca.energy
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This Compliance Checklist details what you need to know for:
#1 Immediate Action Required for ABC Licensees: Kratom/7-OH
#2 Proposition 65 Compliance Reminder for Bisphenol S (BPS)
#3 Attention Tobacco Retailers: Unflavored Tobacco List
#4 SB 1053 is in Effect: No More Plastic Bags
#5 Biodiesel B20 On-Road-In-Use Requirements No Longer in Effect
#6 Workplace Know Your Rights Model Notice Requirement
#7 Cal/OSHA Form 300A Workplace Illnesses and Injuries Annual Summary Requirement
#8 Tianeptine Restrictions
#9 New Form Required For Employers: Emergency Contact Form for Arrest or Detention
#10 California Regulations on AI and Privacy Policies
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State & Local Updates!
Stay tuned to see how we’re advocating on your behalf, including our correspondence with lawmakers, responses to key policies, and other important communications shaping the industry.
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Attack on Iran Underscores Risks of California's Heavy Reliance on Imported Oil as Gas Prices Rise, Affecting Drivers in the Southwest
Published March 4, 2026
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