Forcing a gas tax repeal vote + Should gas refineries disclose profits? + CAGOP endorsements

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KILEY TO FORCE FLOOR VOTE ON GAS TAX REPEAL

Via Lindsey Holden...

Californians are still caught in the grip of rising gasoline prices, and lawmakers are continuing to push their own forms of relief for drivers.

Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, will seek to force a floor vote Monday on Assembly Bill 1638, which would suspend the state’s gas excise tax for six months and backfill the lost revenue with General Fund dollars.

Prior to the vote, he’ll hold a news conference to discuss high gas prices at a Shell station near 29th and H streets.

Kiley introduced AB 1638 in January, but Republicans have been touting it as fuel costs have surged amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

California’s average gas price was $5.79 on Friday, according to AAA. That’s significantly higher than the national average of $4.33. State motorists pay about 51 cents per gallon in excise tax every time they fill up their tanks.

That money funds infrastructure improvements. Lawmakers authorized a gas tax hike to fund more road fixes in 2017 as part of Senate Bill 1, which also survived a repeal effort in 2018.

Gov. Gavin Newsom in January proposed his own gas tax measure as part of his budget plan. He suggested postponing a planned 5.6% gas excise tax increase for a year, although that would save drivers only about 3 cents per gallon, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.

During his State of the State address, Newsom acknowledged drivers might need more help to cope with fuel costs. The governor suggested relief for motorists that might take the form of a rebate slipped into the revised May budget, although few specifics are available.

Following the State of the State, Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, said they would support spending General Fund dollars to support drivers over enacting a tax cut.

“Gas, food, and other prices are up, so our focus cannot be a small cut to the gas tax that might not get passed on to consumers,” Atkins and Rendon said in a statement.

NEW BILL FORCES GAS REFINERIES TO DISCLOSE PROFITS

Speaking of high gas prices, one California lawmaker has introduced a bill, SB 1322, that would require refinery operators in the state to submit a monthly report detailing the volume of crude oil refined into gasoline in the prior month, the average price paid for each barrel of crude oil that is refined into gasoline, and the gross and net refining margins per barrel of gasoline sold.

“The bill would require the (State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission) to post those reported data, within 14 calendar days of the end of each month, on its internet website. The bill would require the commission to notify a refiner that has failed to timely submit the information required by the bill and would impose the above-described civil penalty on the refiner as specified above,” according to the legislative counsel’s digest summary of the bill.

The bill is authored by Sen. Ben Allen, who chairs both the California Legislature Environmental Caucus and the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.

“We ask the oil companies on behalf of California drivers: Let’s end the games of smoke and mirrors. Open your books and show the public your true costs of doing business,” Allen said in a statement announcing the bill.

The bill is supported by both Consumer Watchdog and CALPIRG. According to Consumer Watchdog, five oil refiners — Chevron, Marathon, PBF Energy, Phillips 66 and Valero — account for 96% of the gasoline refined in California.

“Gasoline prices in California are about a dollar and ten cents more per gallon than in the rest of America,” said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog, in a statement. “With California taxes and environmental fees adding about 50 cents per gallon, Californians have long wondered where the extra money they are paying per gallon goes, and with this legislation we will finally know. California has been an ATM for oil refiners for too long, it’s time to pull the curtain back and find out how much California oil refiners are making off every gallon of gasoline they sell and take back the excessive profits.”

CALIFORNIA GOP RELEASES ITS 2022 ENDORSEMENTS

The California Republican Party has released a slate of 2022 midterm election endorsements for candidates for Congress, the Assembly and the State Senate.

“A midterm year filled with opportunities for Republicans is made even better by strong candidates ready to fight for the people of our state,” said CAGOP Chairwoman Jessica Millan Patterson in a statement. “Democrats’ one-party rule in Washington and Sacramento has led to record-high gas prices, a weak economy, surging crime and failing schools. With the California Republican Party’s endorsed candidates, and more to come, I am incredibly encouraged that we can defend and grow our ranks at all levels of government this November with commonsense conservatives who offer real solutions to our state’s challenges.”

One notable endorsement on the list: Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, who received an endorsement for his campaign for the newly created 3rd Congressional District.

Kiley won that endorsement over Republican Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones. Jones recently won the endorsement of Republican Congressman Tom McClintock.

You can see the full slate of California GOP-endorsed candidates by visiting here.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Nope.”

- Assemblyman Chad Mayes, I-Rancho Mirage, shooting down rumors that he was weighing a bid for Congress, via Twitter.

Best of The Bee:

• A judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday against the president of California state government’s largest public employee union, ordering Richard Louis Brown to leave the organization’s Sacramento headquarters, return documents he took from the building and stop exercising the powers of his office, via Wes Venteicher.

• California lawmakers have introduced a bill that would override a court order requiring UC Berkeley to cut its student enrollment by several thousand, via Andrew Sheeler.

• Serious talk has begun in Washington and among governors about suspending the 18.4 cent a gallon federal gasoline tax this year, via David Lightman.

This story was originally published March 14, 2022 at 4:55 AM.