SACRAMENTO, CA – Today Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) released the following statement in response to a proposal by Governor Gavin Newsom to raise taxes on oil producers:
“Californians need immediate relief from soaring gas prices, which we can provide by passing my bipartisan proposal to suspend the gas tax. Instead, Governor Newsom wants to increase taxes yet again,” Kiley said. “The Governor’s tax hike will make matters worse, by restricting production and passing on costs to consumers in the form of higher gas prices. Californians simply cannot afford more backward policies.”
California’s average gas price hit $6.29 per gallon today, nearly $2.50 more than the national average. This is just 15 cents below the state’s record high of $6.44 set in June of this year and an increase of nearly 80 cents in the past week alone.
In January, Kiley introduced AB 1638, an urgency measure that would have immediately suspended the gas tax and saved Californian’s over 50 cents per gallon at the pump. That bill was rejected in the Assembly on multiple occasions. Instead of providing relief, the Speaker of the Assembly created the Select Committee on Gasoline Supply and Pricing to study the issue. To date, the committee has held two hearings and has yet to produce anything actionable.
Assemblyman Kevin Kiley represents the 6th Assembly District, which includes the Sacramento, Placer, and El Dorado County communities of Cameron Park, El Dorado Hills, Fair Oaks, Folsom, Granite Bay, Lincoln, Loomis, Orangevale, Penryn, Rocklin, Roseville, and Sheridan.
