SACRAMENTO >> Democratic lawmakers in the California Assembly are pushing back against a last-minute effort by Gov. Gavin Newsom to pass proposals aimed at cutting energy costs for Californians and reducing gas price spikes at the pump, saying they need more time to weigh the impacts.

The pushback means the state Legislature might head to a special session this year after the legislative deadline to wrap up the session on Saturday. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said his members are “on the same page” as Newsom about the need to prioritize lowering energy bills for Californians. But details of the proposals weren’t released until this week.

“If the Governor calls a special session, we’re going to do the work and deliver results,” Rivas said in a statement.

“What I’m not going to do is push through bills that haven’t been sufficiently vetted with public hearings. Doing so could lead to unintended consequences on Californians’ pocketbooks.”

The discussions mark the latest example of Newsom applying pressure on the Legislature to try to pass oil and gas regulations aimed at lowering costs for Californians and strengthen the state’s reputation as a climate leader.

The Democrat called a special session in 2022 in an effort to pass a tax on oil company profits.

He then said he wanted a penalty, not a tax. The law he ended up signing months later gave state regulators the power to penalize oil companies for making too much money.

One of the most contentious proposals Assembly Democrats want more time to weigh would require oil refiners to maintain a minimum inventory of fuel, with a goal of avoiding gas price spikes.

Gas price starts to spike when companies have too little supply on hand, supporters said, and the measure could help save drivers millions of dollars. But Western States Petroleum Association said the bill would push refiners into withholding supplies and hurt consumers. “When you withhold supplies, costs go up,” WSPA spokesperson Kevin Slagle said.

There were 63 days from June through October last year in which refiners in California maintained fewer than 15 days of gas supply, according to the California Energy Commission. That was up from 49 days during the same timespan in 2022 and 35 days in 2021.

Other bills backed by Newsom would create more oversight over wildfire mitigation spending, streamline renewable energy projects and give households a one-time rebate for electricity bills. Lawmakers already sent Newsom a bill to restore power to households that were previously not able to pay their electric bills. The proposals are dividing Democrats, who hold a supermajority in the Legislature.