California’s politicians want you to believe they’re trying to rein in sky-high gas prices. They’re not. What’s really happening is years of restrictive policies and overregulation are finally catching up with the state’s fuel supply—and now lawmakers are scrambling to put a Band-Aid on a self-inflicted wound.
Let’s break it down.
The Real Price of "Green"
Starting July 1, Californians will get hit with a one-two punch: a hike in the state’s gasoline excise tax and new rules from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that make it more expensive to produce gasoline. Together, these could raise pump prices by as much as 70 cents per gallon this summer according to some independent estimates—though California regulators say that the increase from the Low Carbon Fuel Standard rules could be as low as 5 to 8 cents per gallon. Some estimates project reaching $1.50 extra per gallon by 2035.
And California’s gasoline prices are already the highest in the nation—even surpassing Hawaii’s.
CARB’s updated Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is designed to push fuel producers to make cleaner-burning gas by penalizing those who don’t. But those costs don’t stay with the refiners—they get passed to consumers. CARB admits it doesn’t analyze how its rules affect prices. Let that sink in: the agency making billion-dollar decisions about your fuel doesn’t ask what it will cost you at the pump.
Meanwhile, the gas excise tax—already among the highest in the country—is automatically adjusted each year for inflation. This year, it’s going up again, from 59.6 cents to 61.2 cents per gallon.
