Today, Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares (R-Santa Clarita) and Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa) responded to the Newsom administration’s delayed release of internal reports on California’s sky-high utility prices.
“These reports from the administration are the definition of ‘too little, too late,’” said Sen. Valladares. “Unfortunately, all they do is confirm what Californians have known for years which is that the governor and legislative Democrats’ overzealous and misguided environmental policies have made life in this state unaffordable for too many.”
The reports, released today after an official request from Republican lawmakers last week along with media inquiries, were meant to propose policy changes that could ease the burden of California’s utility costs which are dramatically higher than the national average and continue to rise at levels that far outpace inflation. Instead, proposals from the California Energy Commission and California Public Utilities Commission included no meaningful cost savings for everyday Californians.
“We are in the middle of an affordability crisis in this state and life continues to become more unmanageable for California families,” said Sen. Ochoa Bogh, who serves as vice chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications. “We need to do more to alleviate the policy-imposed financial burdens on families, and gimmicky cost shifting and blame games aren’t going to get us there.”
Republican lawmakers continue to raise ongoing concerns with the Newsom administration’s lack of transparency and action on rising utility rates. The non-partisan legislative analyst office and Newsom’s own regulatory agencies have even indicated that Democrat-championed policy decisions have contributed to the current utility rate crisis in California.