California passes bill to penalize oil refiners for excessive profits.

California lawmakers have approved a measure that would allow state regulators to consider punishing oil refiners when they make too much money off of California drivers. The measure creates a new committee within the California Energy Commission that will be empowered to gather private business information and data from refiners to consider whether to set a cap on company profits and a potential penalty when the cap is exceeded. The funds from the penalty would go into a fund, which the Legislature would then determine how to spend. The approval comes six months after the governor called for action after gas prices spiked $2.60 more than the national average.