Free Republic

SACRAMENTO -- California should impose a transportation fee — perhaps an added tax on gasoline — to reduce consumption of petroleum products and pay for measures to cut greenhouse gases, top advisers told Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers on Thursday. A so-called "public goods charge" on gasoline would be similar to the fee on electricity bills that pays for energy-efficiency programs. If a proportional fee was imposed at the pump, consumers would pay about 2.5 cents more per gallon. The draft recommendations by top administration officials are the first attempt to say how California can meet Schwarzenegger's ambitious pledge...