California lawmakers consider penalties for high gas prices and oil profits.

California lawmakers will vote on a proposal to allow penalties on oil companies for price gouging at the pump, aimed at stopping the kind of spikes last summer that caused some drivers to pay up to $8 per gallon. The bill highlights the challenges of balancing the competing pressures of protecting consumers at the pump while at the same time pushing policies to end the state's reliance on fossil fuels. The oil industry has pushed back, paying for a wave of digital ads that have labeled any potential penalty as a tax.