California passes landmark gas price gouging penalty law.

California lawmakers have passed the country's first penalty for gas price gouging, giving regulators the ability to punish oil companies for profiting from gas price spikes and creating an independent watchdog within the California Energy Commission. Refiners would be required to disclose new information about their pricing to regulators, with most of it to be kept confidential. Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to sign the measure into law on Tuesday. The move is part of Newsom's policy priority to take on the oil industry and protect California families from abuses of market power.