Free Republic

SACRAMENTO – Even as prices at the pump soar beyond $2 a gallon, a South Bay lawmaker has proposed to hike the gas tax by a nickel. "It's not going to win me any popularity points from Southern California drivers," conceded Assemblywoman Jenny Oropeza, D-Carson. However, the state's transportation system that drives the economy desperately needs an immediate cash infusion to unclog freeways and patch roads, she argued. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has proposed diverting more than $1 billion in highway funding to balance a debt-riddled budget, rejected a gas tax hike. "The governor has made it abundantly clear that...