Thanks to massive taxes imposed on our residents, California has a $65 billion budget surplus. If California immediately suspended its gas tax for a year, the revenue loss would be offset by using 6% of the surplus.
6% of a $65 billion surplus.
On Monday, CA Assembly Republicans made a simple ask. They said “hey, let’s actually talk about suspending CA’s gas tax.” Every Republican that voted said yes.
But to show you how one-party-dominated our state is right now, the vote to even discuss the issue failed 40 against 18. (Locally, our Assembly Member Petrie-Norris did not lodge a vote according to the graphic posted by various news organizations.)
They wouldn’t even vote to discuss it.
You know what they did discuss and vote on? Creating an exemption for UC Berkeley to admit more students, which had been blocked by a judge based on the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). On Monday, the Assembly and Senate passed the bill and the Governor signed it. In one day.
Can it really be argued that a university’s college admissions is significantly more important than providing immediate fiscal relief to residents by not forcing tax payments on what is already the most expensive gas in the nation? (Quick note, as of yesterday, the average price of gas in CA is $5.75/gallon. The next closest is Hawaii – an island surrounded by thousands of miles of water – at $4.99. The nation’s average is $4.31.)
And, finally, a Senate committee discussed ending the emergency yesterday. A giant kudos to Senator Melissa Melendez for pushing to even have it heard.
The primary argument against lifting the state of emergency was: “there could be more variants! What happens then! We need emergency powers now!” To which the logical response would be: if there is a future emergency, then the Governor can declare an emergency then. Heck, the state legislature just proved that they can debate and pass a bill in a single day (the Berkeley/CEQA issue).
But no. The cowards won. A monarchy reigns.
For someone who fights for good governance, this has been a tough week.
