The fate of an unpopular gas tax in California will be decided this November, a measure that could drive GOP turnout and puts outgoing Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown’s legacy on the line.
Opponents of a California gas tax scored a major victory when state officials announced Monday that the measure would be placed on the November ballot. An insurgent repeal campaign was successful in garnering more than the 585,407 signatures of registered voters required, the latest rebuke to Brown and the California Democrats who have stood by the unpopular tax.
SB 1 passed the California state legislature and was signed into law by Brown in April 2017. The bill, which went into effect in November 2017, raised the state gas tax by 12 cents per gallon and raised the diesel fuel tax by 20 cents per gallon. The measure also imposed a new, annual fee for vehicles that ranges from $25 to $175, depending on the value of the car. California Democrats argued the tax was needed to provide more funding for road and bridge repairs.
However, the new gas tax has proven to be extremely unpopular with California residents, many of whom are already subjected to the highest gas prices in the country. The average price for gasoline in California is currently $3.67 a gallon, the second highest in the entire country, according to AAA.
The added pain at the pump has fomented voter backlash, which was put on full display during the June 5 primary elections.
Josh Newman — a Democratic state senator from Orange County and a major supporter of the gas tax — was recalled on primary night and replaced with former Republican assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang. The vote was not even close, with nearly two-thirds of voters choosing to recall Newman.
Newman’s defeat was significant in that it ended the Democratic Party’s supermajority control in the California state legislature.
Republicans are hoping to ride a wave of voter disdain of the gas tax to make more gains in the state capitol. Now that the issue is officially on the November ballot, the California GOP appears to be getting their wish.
“This is a message to the millions of forgotten Californians ignored by the Sacramento political elite, help is on the way,” said GOP gubernatorial candidate John Cox in a statement following news that the issue would be on the ballot. “Let this also be a message to every special interest in Sacramento, we’re coming for you. You can outspend the people, but you can’t outvote the people, because there are more of us than there are of you.” (RELATED: California Voters Show Disdain For High Gas Tax By Recalling Its Biggest Supporter)
Momentum is on the GOP’s side. Repeal of the tax was supported by 51 percent of registered voters, according to a USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll conducted in May. Brown, however, is ready for a fight. The outgoing governor — who has championed environmentalist causes during his time in office — believes repeal of a law he supported and signed would be a ding at his legacy.
“If you say no, what? We are just going to go back to congestion, call a halt to this project, stop the projects for the Olympics?” Brown stated. “That is really dumb and I don’t believe Californians are going to do that. That’s why we want to vote ‘no’ on any attempt to repeal and throw back this tax.”
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