<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655987381711,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-fe9d-da96-ad7d-ffbf8a5c0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655987381711,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017d-fe9d-da96-ad7d-ffbf8a5c0000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_55919773", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1038247"} }); ","_id":"00000181-908a-ddcb-a3e1-ddca18960000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video Embed
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers are at odds, disagreeing on how to provide relief to Californians strained by high gas prices.
Though Newsom promised “immediate action” in March, proposing doling out rebates to car owners, state lawmakers have yet to come to an agreement on how to put money into the pocketbooks of Californians.
ON GUNS AND GAS, BIDEN PUNTS TOP ISSUES TO CONGRESS
“There weren’t going to be checks cut in the next three weeks after that announcement, but it certainly had created an expectation of something faster,” Chris Hoene, executive director of the liberal California Budget and Policy Center, told Politico. “They announced a plan that didn’t have a lot of details, didn’t have a lot of contours, they hadn’t vetted it with the Legislature.”
Newsom’s proposal calls for $9 billion in tax refunds coming out of the state’s budget surplus in the form of direct payments to everyone in the state who owns a vehicle registered in California.
Under his proposal, Californians would receive $400 direct payments per vehicle, capped at two vehicles, though some Democratic lawmakers are proposing to limit the relief to those making less than $125,000, cutting out California’s wealthier residents.
California Senate President Pro Tempore Toni Atkins and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon have argued that limiting relief to car owners excludes non-car-owners that are struggling from inflated prices.
“Senate Democrats do not believe a rebate tied to car ownership does the job,” Atkins said last month, according to CapRadio. “That plan leaves out non-car owners, including low income and elderly Californians, who are also impacted by the current high costs of consumer goods and are also deserving of relief.”
Democratic lawmakers instead want to send $200 to all taxpayers earning up to $125,000 or joint filers earning up to $250,000 a year, with additional $200 payments per a dependent.
Budget negotiations could continue for months because the state’s legislature is preparing to begin a monthlong summer recess on July 1, right in time for California’s 3-cent gas tax increase to take effect.
Rendon signaled Monday that relief checks could be sent out “before October,” according to Politico.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
As of Wednesday, the average price of gas in California was $6.35 a gallon, nearly $2 above the national average of $4.94 a gallon, according to the AAA.
