California Governor Signs E15 Bill

October 03, 2025

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by Cindy Zimmerman (Energy.AgWired.com) California Governor Gavin Newsom today (October 2, 2025) signed legislation that could help bring down the cost of gasoline in California, making way for lower cost 15 percent ethanol fuel (E15) to be made available for the first time in the state.

Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper says California was the only remaining state to not permit sales of E15. “Many other states have already seen the benefits of E15—healthier air, better engine performance, and cost savings at the pump. Now, California drivers are about to experience those same advantages for themselves, and we thank Gov. Newsom for voicing his support for E15 throughout the legislative process,” said Cooper.

The Governor signed Assembly Bill 30, which passed unanimously out of both the Assembly and Senate, allowing E15 to be sold immediately in the state while the Air Resources Board (CARB) completes its ongoing work to study whether the additional blend can meet the state’s clean air requirements.

Last October, the Governor directed CARB to accelerate studying how California could increase ethanol blending in gasoline while maintaining environmental protections. Authorizing the use of this alternative gasoline fuel blend reduces the state’s dependence on petroleum and further diversifies the state fuel supply, helping to avoid gasoline price spikes and costs to consumers at the pump.

RFA has been helping California retailers prepare for this moment in earnest over the past month, holding E15 workshops all over the state, starting in San Diego at the California Fuels and Convenience Alliance trade show.

RFA Senior Vice President of Industry Relations and Market Development Robert White says they have received tremendous response. “We believe that E15 value proposition is going to be even stronger than it is here in the Midwest and parts of the East Coast and Southeast so that when one retailer starts to do that blending we think it’ll take hold a little bit faster than we’ve seen in other areas,” said White. “So here’s this strange scenario where the last state to legalize E15 could really become the poster child for the rest of the country.”

RFA has set up a website to provide information about selling E15 in California called E15forCA.com.

Listen to White’s interview here.
Play Robert White, RFA - E15 for CA (12:35) READ MORE; includes AUDIO

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Excerpt from Office of Governor Gavin Newsom: Governor Newsom signed AB 30, allowing E15 fuel to be sold in California while the state studies its environmental impact – another tool to help avoid severe gasoline price spikes.

SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom today (October 2, 2025) signed legislation that could help bring down the cost of gasoline in California.

The Governor signed Assembly Bill 30 by Assemblymember David Alvarez (D-San Diego), which allows an additional blend of gasoline – E15 fuel specifically – to be sold in the state while the Air Resources Board (CARB) completes its ongoing work to study whether the additional blend can meet the state’s clean air requirements.

Thanks to our work with the legislature, we have averted billions of dollars in higher costs at the pump by avoiding the kinds of severe gasoline price spikes we saw a few years ago. While we continue the critical work to stabilize our state’s fuel market, we’re cutting red tape to provide consumers with more options as we continue our transition to cleaner transportation.

Governor Gavin Newsom

“AB 30 is an example of how we can solve problems thoughtfully in California,” said Assemblymember Alvarez. “By authorizing the sale and use of E15 gasoline, we can reduce the cost of gas and maintain our commitment to a cleaner environment. I thank Governor Newsom and Speaker Rivas for their focus on affordability this year, and I look forward to working together on more solutions that improve the lives of Californians in the coming months.”

How it works

According to a study conducted by the University of California, Berkeley and the United States Naval Academy, this could lower gasoline prices by up to $0.20 per gallon and save Californians as much as $2.7 billion annually, but also would require infrastructure modifications throughout the state, including at retail gasoline stations.

E15 fuel, which contains 15% ethanol, has been widely adopted in other states and could reduce gasoline prices without adding environmental harm. As of 2023, E15 was sold at more than 3,000 stations in 31 states.

Another study from the University of California, Riverside found that increasing ethanol blending in gasoline would not affect NOx emissions and would reduce particulate emissions.

Keeping gas prices low

Recent actions by Governor Newsom and the legislature have helped stabilize the state’s petroleum market and prevented billions of dollars in gasoline price spikes:

The Governor signed legislation last month that provides a path for a targeted, locally-led, environmentally responsible and safe increase in oil production in Kern County to boost overall fuel supplies in the state.
Following record gasoline price spikes in 2022, Governor Newsom called for a special session and worked in partnership with the legislature on first-of-its-kind transparency requirements on the oil industry, which have already helped the state manage fuel supply and stabilize prices.
Moreover, the transparency afforded by that first special session legislation led to the second special session legislation focused on building more stability into California’s fuel supply, including by the establishment of a minimum supply inventory and requiring plans for refinery resupply during maintenance, work that is now underway by the CEC.
Both pieces of special session legislation gave the state new tools to understand and help manage the state’s petroleum market – providing more transparency than ever before to allow the state to make informed decisions with respect to our transition away from fossil fuels and towards cleaner, alternative fuels. READ MORE

Excerpt from Growth Energy: Once E15 becomes available at California retail locations, drivers in the state can expect to see a more affordable option at the pump—other states have seen an average savings of 10-30 cents less per gallon, with some locations offering E15 for up to a dollar less per gallon.

“The wait is finally over—E15 is now approved for sale in California, and the biggest winners will ultimately be the state’s drivers and their families,” said Growth Energy CEO Emily Skor. “E15 is a more affordable fuel option that the vast majority of drivers can take advantage of without having to buy a new vehicle. Its approval in California will generate more demand for American farmers, boosting the ag economy while allowing California residents to keep more of their hard-earned money.”

“Assembly Members David Alvarez, Cottie Petrie-Norris, Heath Flora, the state’s Problem Solvers Caucus, and Governor Newsom all deserve credit for their leadership and for their hard work seeing this bill through to its enactment,” Skor added. “We commend them for their commitment to Californians, and look forward to connecting retailers to ethanol producers to get this fuel out of drivers’ dreams and into their cars right away.”

Learn more about the benefits of E15 here. READ MORE

Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: The process to approve new fuel blends in California is uniquely difficult, which has caused significant delays in approving E15 blends. Under a state law implemented in 1999, any regulatory change to California’s gasoline blend requires a multimedia evaluation and approval by the California Environmental Policy Council—an intensive process unique to California.

The multimedia evaluations are conducted by a working group and typically take 2-5 years to complete. They are performed based on a three-tier structure. The California Air Resources Board began the process of a multimedia evaluation for E15 in 2018. A Tier III report, the multimedia risk assessment final report, was circulated to relevant agencies in late 2022, but little progress has been made since then. As of late 2024, CARB estimated at least another year could be required to complete the multimedia evaluation process.

California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom took action last year to try to expedite the availability of E15. The California Assembly in October 2024 unanimously approved a bill that aimed to require CARB to complete its multimedia evaluation of E15 by July 1, 2025. The state Senate, however, failed to take action on the bill. After the E15 bill failed, Newsom directed CARB to accelerate efforts to approve E15 sales.

AB 30 was introduced in December 2024 and was amended twice. The legislation allows for the sales of fuel blends continuing 10.5% to 15% ethanol by volume in the state for use as transportation fuel until CEPC completes its review and publicly posts the findings of its multimedia review of E15 as required by existing law, and CARB either adopts a regulation establishing a specification for E15 or posts an assessment on its website demonstrating that it is not possible for a proposed regulation establishing a specification for E15.

“Thanks to our work with the legislature, we have averted billions of dollars in higher costs at the pump by avoiding the kinds of severe gasoline price spikes we saw a few years ago,” Newsom said in an Oct. 2 statement. “While we continue the critical work to stabilize our state’s fuel market, we’re cutting red tape to provide consumers with more options as we continue our transition to cleaner transportation.” READ MORE