Republican state lawmakers call for suspension of gas tax

Republican state lawmakers called for the state to suspend its gas tax to ease the burden on consumers as gas prices across Southern California near $6 a gallon.

"It's time to give California some much-needed relief from these high costs," said Assembly Republican leader James Gallagher.

On Monday, the lawmakers forced a floor vote to fast-track legislation that would suspend California's 51-cent per gallon gas tax and backfill projects from the state's $45 billion surpluses.

"This added burden which is [carried] by Californians alone, is not the result of international political events," said Republican Assemblymember Kevin Kiley. "It is the result of our state's political choices and one of those choices is to tax gasoline more than any other state."

However, state Democrats opposed calls to suspend the tax with some key politicians even opposing Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposal to suspend a planned tax increase in the summer.

"Both Gov. Newsom and Republicans are largely in agreement that something needs to happen," said Loyola Law School professor Jessica Levinson. "But members of the Democratic legislature are not necessarily behind Gov. Newsom here so we're seeing a really interesting split."

Newsom also proposed a direct rebate to ease the burden of high gas prices and to help Californians, but the proposal was not enough for Republican lawmakers, with some claiming the program was complicated and vague.

"It's really a typical division in terms of Democrats wanting to fund more government programs [and] Republicans saying let's give this money back to taxpayers," said Levinson.

The tax is expected to raise $6.8 billion for projects on highways and roads.

Ultimately, the proposed suspension of the gas tax was rejected by a vote of 40-18, much to the dismay of many drivers.

"If the surplus is there, the consumer can definitely use it right about now," said North Hollywood resident Anna Sahakyan.