California Gasoline Tax Rises by 4 Cents

“California’s gas tax — already one of the country’s highest — will climb 8% July 1, or about 4 cents a gallon or 56 cents per 14-gallon fill-up,” reported John Woolfolk for The Mercury News on the same day. “The increase will bump the total gas tax on a gallon of petrol to 57.9 cents.”

The gas tax increase comes courtesy of SB 1, the 2017 state law that increases California’s gasoline tax every year to raise more than $52 billion for transportation improvements and maintenance over 10 years. California voters in 2018 rejected a ballot measure that would have repealed it.

To clarify, Senate Bill 1 increased the gasoline tax by 12 cents per gallon and the diesel excise tax by 20 cents per gallon on Nov. 1, 2017. Period.

Like 21 other states and the District of Columbia, but notably not the federal government, it includes an inflation adjustment, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a nonpartisan public officials' association, as of July 14, 2021. [See Planetizen: The Vital Role of Gas Tax Indexing, July 18, 2017].

Republican attempt to suspend gas tax

“California’s just-approved budget closes a projected $31.5 billion shortfall,” adds Woolfolk.

Republicans asked Newsom and Democratic lawmakers again this year to suspend the new gas tax increase [pdf], and Assemblywoman Laurie Davies, a Laguna Niguel Republican, offered a bill amendment Tuesday to do that.

“Stopping the gas tax increase would be a simple way to make travel more affordable as many continue to struggle to get by,” Davies said on the Assembly floor, arguing the tax will cost Californians a combined $600 million and citing a new poll that found four in 10 Californians are considering leaving the state [see 'out-migration'], most citing high costs. “As California becomes less and less affordable, people are leaving our state.”

Her effort fell on deaf ears in the blue state, although it should be noted that Gov. Gavin Newsom had attempted to do the same thing last year. [See related 'gas tax holiday' post below].