Motor vehicle fuel: disclosure of government-imposed costs.

Existing law prohibits a person from selling at retail to the general public any motor vehicle fuel from any place of business in the state, unless there is displayed on the dispensing apparatus in a conspicuous place at least one sign or price indicator showing the total price per gallon, liter, or other unit of measurement of all motor vehicle fuel sold from the dispensing apparatus, including applicable fuel taxes and all sales taxes. Existing law requires every service station in the state to display, at a conspicuous place on, at, or near the dispensing apparatus or at or near the point of sale, at least one clearly visible sign showing a list of applicable state and federal fuel taxes per gallon of motor vehicle fuel sold from the dispensing apparatus. This bill would recast these provisions, requiring that every service station display, at a conspicuous place on, at, or near the dispensing apparatus or at or near the point of sale, at least one clearly visible sign showing a list of applicable state and federal fuel taxes per gallon of motor vehicle fuel sold from the dispensing apparatus, and would additionally require the sign to display the state sales tax, refinery reformatting costs, state underground storage fee costs, cap-and-trade program compliance costs, Low-Carbon Fuel Standard program compliance costs, and federal renewable fuels standard program compliance costs per gallon of motor vehicle fuel sold from the dispensing apparatus. The Warren-Alquist State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Act establishes the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission. The act requires the commission to serve as a central repository within the state government for the collection, storage, retrieval, and dissemination of data and information on all forms of energy supply, demand, conservation, public safety, research, and related subjects. The Petroleum Industry Information Reporting Act of 1980 requires refiners, among others, to provide periodic reports to the commission containing designated information regarding petroleum supplies and price. This bill would require the commission to maintain a page on its Internet Web site that contains a concise breakdown of the following information relative motor vehicle fuel: (1) the federal fuel tax per gallon, (2) the state fuel tax per gallon, (3) the state sales tax per gallon, (4) refinery reformatting costs per gallon, (5) state underground storage fee costs per gallon, (6) cap-and-trade program compliance costs per gallon, (7) Low-Carbon Fuel Standard program compliance costs per gallon, and (8) renewable fuels standard program compliance costs per gallon. The bill would require that the costs be displayed both as a percentage, where applicable, and on a total cost per gallon basis for an average priced gallon of the type of motor vehicle fuel. The bill would require the commission to regularly update, not less than monthly, the breakdown of costs to adjust for fluctuations in the retail costs of motor vehicle fuels. The bill would authorize the commission to include any other government-imposed costs that are reflected in the price of motor vehicle fuel to the extent these may be reasonably calculated. The bill would require the commission to develop an edit ready dynamic or quick read code that is to be displayed on each dispensing apparatus at service stations that will enable a consumer with a smartphone to readily access information on the commission's Internet Web page while at the dispensing apparatus. The bill would require that the Internet Web page include a readily accessible cost calculator that enables a consumer to enter the gallons of gasoline or diesel pumped and the retail price per gallon, and obtain a calculation of the total government-imposed costs and the percentage of government-imposed costs of the total amount charged. The bill would require every service station to display, at a conspicuous place on each dispensing apparatus, a notification to consumers of the availability of information relative to government-imposed costs and the means to readily access this information on the Internet Web site of the commission. The bill would require the commission, in consultation with representatives of the motor vehicles fuel industry, to establish guidelines for service stations to comply with the signage and notification requirements of the bill.