California Republicans tried to address affordability. How did Dems respond?

Republicans in California’s deep blue Assembly are calling out their colleagues across the aisle for refusing to engage with their legislative efforts to address affordability in the state.

The 19-member Assembly Republican caucus launched a “Cost of Living Week” campaign on Monday before a Friday deadline to pass bills out of their house of origin. According to Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, their intention is to highlight the affordability bills they’d proposed, many of which didn’t make it far through the process.

On Monday and Tuesday, Republicans made attempts to bring the bills up for a floor debate. Those attempts were quashed by the Democratic supermajority.

“We had good ideas that would actually cut costs,” said Gallagher. “You know, we want to move them to the forefront and give Democrats the opportunity to vote for them.”

None of the group’s 15 affordability bills made it all the way through the Assembly. Some were never heard in the committees they were assigned to, and others were held in the Committee on Appropriations, where the fiscal impact is weighed.

The package included measures to keep utility rate increases within the rate of inflation, to provide tax exemptions for low and middle-income people who seek in vitro fertilization and to increase tax credits for low-income renters from $60 to $1,000.

“These are real bills. Real relief. Democrats had the chance to help. They didn’t,” said George Andrews, spokesman for the Assembly Republicans.

At the beginning of session, Democratic Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, deemed increasing affordability for state residents the main task of Assembly members.

“We want every leader in this room to have the greatest possible bandwidth to focus on laws that uplift affordability and prosperity,” he said at the start of session in December.

But Republican efforts don’t seem to fit into the Democratic agenda. Rivas spokesman Nick Miller said the bills suggested by Republicans would increase the state’s deficit, which is currently $12 billion.

“We can’t entertain multiple deficit-busting Republican bills, especially when our state is dealing with unprecedented threats from Trump and deep uncertainty about future federal funding,” he said.

Many of the bills, including a suspension of the gas tax and a cancellation of state income tax on tips, would result in revenue losses. A proposed Middle-Class Tax cut would have brought in $11 billion less to the state per year. Some bills were never heard in committee, and their fiscal impact remains unknown.

Miller added the revenue losses incurred by the bills would lead to less money for students and vulnerable Californians in future years. He said the Assembly is focused on “responsible solutions, like fast-tracking housing construction, and protecting our schools, workers and families.”

In April, the Assembly moved forward four bills to streamline housing production in the state, and announced the formation of four “select committees” to study some cost pressures on residents, like early childcare costs and food access.

Despite Democrats declining to bring up the bills for a floor vote, Gallagher said he feels like Republicans may have public opinion on their side on many issues.

He also pointed to Democratic pushback levied against California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph, who said last week that CARB doesn’t study retail costs to consumers when it enacts regulations. Gallagher’s bill, AB 12, would have voided amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard that some expect to raise gasoline prices significantly.

Will Republican bills pass out of the Assembly before this week’s deadline? Probably not, Gallagher said.

“Are we continuing to build support, I think, for things that need to be done and hopefully, ultimately get action?” he said. “I think we will.”

This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 12:46 PM.