State Wants to Ease Gas Price Pain (California)

Santa Cruz Sentinel ^ | March 12, 2022 | Grace Gedye

[nickcarraway]

SNIP

Gas prices per gallon are getting higher across the U.S., but prices in California are soaring higher than any other state according to the American Automobile Association. Yesterday, the average price of gas in California was $5.69 — up from $4.68 a month ago — while the national average was $4.32.

Much of what has driven up gas prices over the past several months is outside of California lawmakers’ control: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the sanctions that followed, have spiked prices, combined with the fact that demand for oil has ramped up from pandemic lows faster than supply.

California’s gas prices tend to be higher than other states in part because of higher taxes for infrastructure and environmental fees. State lawmakers raised the gas tax by 12 cents after a fraught battle in 2017 to pay for roads, bridges, transit projects, and more. Then there’s some amount of higher gas prices in California that’s harder to account for, which Severin Borentein, an energy economist at UC Berkeley, has dubbed the Mystery Gasoline Surcharge.

SNIP

Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom made a modest proposal in January, before Russia invaded Ukraine: Pause the increase for one year. In other words, don’t let the tax go up by 3 cents this year. The Newsom administration described it as an effort “to potentially lower the price of gasoline” and provide some relief to consumers.

The proposal is so small that “it’s not going to have an effect that anyone will notice,” said Borenstein, the Berkeley economist. Drivers probably wouldn’t notice, but people managing state infrastructure budgets probably would: The plan would cost the state about $523 million in lost revenue. That would mostly wind up affecting funding for state highway projects in a couple of years, according to analysis from the Legislative Analyst’sOffice.

[Mogger]

Part of the reason for higher gas prices in CA is the different formulations required in different areas of the state.

[Enterprise]

Dear middle school mentality Newsom. Did you know that all taxes and fees on a gallon of gas add up to $1.19 a gallon in California? If you don’t know, then it figures. If you do know, then it figures.

[4Liberty]

[ALX]

‘’plus 9.7 billion a year on gas taxes’’

_—————-

I have been looking for that figure, so Thanks

I have been trying to figure the bite electric vehicles will take out of State coffers and a ballpark figure of the tax one will eventually pay just to charge them or drive

My point being, these electric vehicles are going to seem like a deal at first

[j.havenfarm]

You like that one, how about the “2017 fraught battle” to jack the tax sky high? They did it. A repeal went on the ballot, and they lied like remorseless mother so and sos in the anti-repeal ads. “Fraught”
My rear end

[oldasrocks]

I heard a politician one say. There are so many extra cars on the road we need to raise the gas tax to pay for the road damage. I asked him —If there are so many extra cars on the road aren’t you collecting a lot more tax on the gas they are burning now? Was given a blank stare for an answer.

[DoughtyOne]

Newsom will make it so all people have to do is bring their
shopping basket by any gas station, and register for a gas
stimulus check.

[Michael.SF.]

And some of those formulas are unique to California

[Pocketdoor]

welfare recipients are not the only special class.... I was at the gun store yesterday.... some pistols on display were “law enforcement only” I guess those guns are to unsafe for us regular folk... SMH

[Pocketdoor]

“Get rid of CARB.
Drill in the shelf of the ocean.
Cut state taxes on petro fuel.
Build nukes.”

Dont we wish!

[Zathras]

Santa Cruz propaganda.
Probably the most liberal city on the West Coast.
We tried to build a design team in Santa Cruz.
No one we hired ever showed up for work for even a 40hr work week.

[Zathras]

My brother worked for Shell Chemical in the Bay Area decades ago.
When CA mandated a special formulation for its gas, Shell was thrilled!
They were the only refinery on the West Coast who could produce it.
It wasn’t any cleaner but it WAS much more expensive.
Consumers were handed the bill.

[ronnie raygun]

let us all guess its Russia’s fault!