As news of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) halting their planned increase to gas prices through an amendment of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard fee, Sen. Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa) applauds Californians for weighing in.
“Families in this state are already grappling with soaring living costs, and a gas price hike of 65 cents or more will only deepen their financial strain,” stated Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, Vice Chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee. “It’s deeply frustrating that the governor’s administration ignored calls for reconsideration from the start. However, I commend the countless Californians who stood alongside Republican lawmakers in fighting against this harmful increase.”
Prior to the vote on the amendment, Republican senators submitted 13,000 petition signatures to CARB asking them to delay the vote and release a new cost-benefit analysis. The petition drive followed a formal letter from Senate and Assembly Republicans demanding the actual costs be released to the public and a vote on the hike to be delayed.
AAA reports that as of Feb. 19 the average price for a gallon of gas in California is $4.85, well above the national average of $3.16.
Calling it ‘price gouging at the pump,’ Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R- San Diego) encouraged Californians to weigh in on the issue at the time. This pressure, along with public scrutiny, resulted in the Board voting on this issue late on a Friday evening just after the election.
“The Newsom Administration’s 65-cent gas price hike has been PAUSED by CA’s Office of Administrative Law because it didn’t meet legal requirements,” said Leader Jones. “The unfair regulation failed to warn Californians accurately about the true impact it would have on gas prices. Newsom’s plan has always been to jack up the price of gas so high that you’re forced into an expensive EV. We’ve been fighting this since Day 1 and we won’t stop now. While this recent announcement is a momentary win, Newsom’s Air Resources Board has 120 days to address the issue and resubmit. Our Senate Bill 2 will protect Californians by repealing the gas price hike and holding this corrupt Administration accountable for trying to deceive the public.”
On the first day of the new legislative session in December, Leader Jones and all Senate Republicans even introduced a measure (Senate Bill 2) to repeal this regulation and overturn the 65-cent gas price hike.