Gas-tax relief for Memorial Day drivers? Don’t count on it, as Democrats take a pass

With the Memorial Day holiday weekend having arrived, the summer driving season officially begins. That means continued sticker shock at gas pumps when California drivers fill up.

On Thursday, the average statewide price for a gallon of unleaded gas was $6.07, according to AAA. The situation is relatively “better” in the San Joaquin Valley: Fresno County’s per-gallon average was $5.94, Madera County’s was $5.97 and Tulare County’s stood at $5.99. Kings County was $5.84, while Merced County unfortunately rose to $6.02.

In mid-March I wrote a column supporting Gov. Newsom’s proposal then to suspend the planned 3-cent hike in the state gas tax, effective July 1. At that time, I referred to “scary gas price increases” as the per-gallon state average was $5.57. I also noted how the highest-in-the-nation tax particularly hurts low-income people in the Valley, like farm workers who travel long distances to area fields.

California’s current gas tax is 51 cents per gallon; it will move to 53.9 cents in just over a month. The money is used to rebuild crumbling roads and bridges. For that reason, Democratic leaders in the Legislature have not favored suspending the tax — they want the repair money to keep flowing in.

In his revised budget unveiled earlier this month, Newsom proposed sending $400 checks to most of the state’s vehicle owners.

But Democratic leaders in the Assembly and Senate have been clear that they don’t embrace Newsom’s rebate idea. Rather, these leaders — Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins of San Diego and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon of Lakewood — want to send checks to state residents whether they own vehicles or not. Their plan would also exempt upper-income Californians.

This weekend is also notable for what likely won’t happen. Friday is the final day for bills to pass out of the Legislature. If nothing emerges, the gas tax will go up July 1, and motorists will be stuck with the high prices.

This, despite months of potential to get something done to provide real relief, especially to those low-income Valley residents Democratic leaders say they care most about.

Giant surplus

The key background to all of this is the fact that California has rolled up a $97.5 billion budget surplus. Half of that, by law, must go to education. But that still leaves $49 billion available for spending.

I advocated in March that the state leaders suspend the tax and use surplus money — then estimated around $75 billion — to do the road work. No local Democrat at that time — Joaquin Arambula and Adam Gray in the Assembly, Melissa Hurtado and Anna Caballero in the Senate — championed that concept, even as Republican members began making the point.

This week, however, Gray voted with GOP members in his chamber to suspend the tax. It was a logical political move, as Gray campaigns for a congressional seat.

Hurtado and Gray have joined GOP and Democratic colleagues in what they call the “Problem Solvers Caucus” to co-author a bill to suspend the gas tax — AB 2457. It has yet to come up for a vote.

In an answer to my query, Arambula said suspending the gas tax “is not the answer.” Rather, he supports the Atkins-Rendon approach “because it would help our families, especially those in our most disadvantaged communities, deal with overall increasing expenses, not just gas.” He expects a relief plan in several weeks.

But he misses the point: The Legislature could do both — suspend the tax and send relief checks, given the huge surplus.

Missed opportunity

If ever there was a safe time for an elected official to bring heat to their party leaders, this is it. Inflation is at levels not seen for decades, with the dramatic rise in fuel costs a big part of the reason. California housing prices continue to be sky-high, even in the Valley.

Voters need to remember this as an episode of tax relief that could have happened, but didn’t. Democrats, with their supermajorities in the Legislature, are the ones in charge. They are the ones to blame when you feel the pain at the pump this holiday weekend.

Correction: An earlier version wrongly referred to Hurtado voting on the gas tax suspension. That only occurred in the Assembly.

This story was originally published May 27, 2022 at 5:00 AM.