Today, Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (R–Jackson) blasted Senate Democrats for their so-called “affordability” package, pointing out that of the 432 Democrat-authored bills advanced during the Senate’s House of Origin period, only 3 - just 0.7% - related to affordability.
During floor debate on SB 254 (Becker), one of the so-called affordability bills that adds bureaucracy but fails to lower energy costs, Senator Alvarado-Gil urged Democrats in the legislature to take California’s affordability crisis seriously:
“Shame on us. We have the power, the education, the will, and the drive to put money back into the pockets of Californians and give them some financial relief… We’re all here to do good for California. But this affordability package is pathetic.”
[Click HERE to watch Senator Alvarado-Gil’s full floor remarks]
She also condemned Senate Democrats for refusing to even consider Senate Bill 2 (Jones), legislation she coauthored to stop a 65-cent gas price hike set to hit Californians on July 1.
SB 2 would have repealed a costly update to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), approved by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) — a panel of political appointees not elected by the people. Even Democrats are now calling for CARB Chair Liane Randolph to resign after she admitted the board does not even consider economic impacts when crafting sweeping regulations that affect every California driver.
On July 1, drivers will face a double hit at the pump:
- The LCFS increase
- A rise in the state gas excise tax to 61.2 cents per gallon, locking in the highest gas prices in the nation
“State mandates and unaccountable bureaucracies are the underlying rot behind our sky-high energy prices. Agencies like CARB make decisions that sidestep the legislature and the people. Yet when Democrats have a chance to take their power back and stop a massive gas price hike, they do nothing? When your eyes pop out of your head at the pump this summer, you’ll know who’s responsible. I will keep fighting to stop their out-of-touch progressive policies from further destroying our state’s middle class,” Alvarado-Gil concluded.