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A proposal by California Problem Solver Caucus to suspend California's 51-cent gas tax ahead of Governor Gavin Newsom's plan deadline.
On Thursday, a group of California lawmakers proposed the latest idea for putting money back in the pockets of residents struggling with sky-high gas prices — but despite the growing pile of proposals, a consensus on gas in California is still up in the air. The bipartisan California Problem Solvers Caucus‘ plan includes suspending the state’s gas excise tax for one year, ensuring 100% of the savings are passed on to consumers, and using part of California's massive budget surplus to replace the lost tax revenue for vital infrastructure projects.
“The most important takeaway from this announcement … is that there is now a proposal in California to suspend the gas tax with bipartisan support,” accordig to Assemblymember Adam Gray. Assembly and Senate Democratic leaders have made it clear that suspending gas taxes isn’t their preferred form of relief. In order to implement Governor Newsom’s proposal to suspend July’s scheduled increase to the gas and diesel excise tax, lawmakers would need to pass it by Sunday, but the Legislature has yet to introduce any further bills on the matter.