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With a May 1 deadline looming for early budget action items to be enacted, Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) responds to the Politico story reporting discussions of a gas tax suspension have ‘fizzled out:’
“Legislative Democrats just ran out the clock on suspending the gas tax. Actions speak louder than words, and they did nothing. Republicans have been calling for a one-year suspension of the 51.1-cent tax per gallon tax for over a year – a simple solution that would have provided immediate financial relief for California’s drivers. Sadly, it is business as usual in Sacramento, and consumers are again at the short end of the stick.”
In 2021, Senate Republicans called for a gas tax holiday. Later in the year, Senate Republicans, led by Republican Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, offered amendments formally requesting the suspension of the state gas tax and waiving an upcoming increase. Democrats failed to act then – just as they are failing to act now.
As gas prices shot up in recent months, legislative Republicans doubled down on their calls for gas price relief. Such calls included formally requesting a gas tax holiday in the state budget, introducing legislation to reduce gas tax burdens, and calling on legislative budget committee chairs to take action amidst skyrocketing gas prices earlier this year.