By CalMatters |
With the legislative session in gear, lawmakers are unveiling their first bills. Here’s a look at how some Inland Empire lawmakers want to tackle such pocketbook issues as gas prices and taxes, and a proposal about crime against Native Americans.
Slashing gas prices: When the California Air Resources Board adopted new standards to cut carbon emissions from vehicle fuel in November, it sparked a swift outcry. Some lawmakers warned the policy could raise gas prices by 47 to 85 cents per gallon. Environmentalists said it could worsen air quality by swapping out gasoline for biofuels derived from plant and animal waste.
Assembly member Greg Wallis, a Rancho Mirage Republican, introduced a bill Dec. 2 to reverse the air board’s decision, arguing that without a clear picture of costs, the state shouldn’t move ahead with the new rules.
Assembly Bill 12 would void the new fuel standards, which some lawmakers fear will penalize poorer drivers who commute longer distances and spend more on gas. Californians already pay about a dollar more for gas than drivers in other parts of the country, Wallis said. All the other Assembly Republicans signed on to sponsor his bill.
“At a time when families are struggling to keep the lights on and put food on the table, California cannot afford to gamble on risky policies pushed by unelected bureaucrats,” Wallis said in a statement.
His bill mirrors one that Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, a San Diego Republican, introduced the same day.
Their bills follow a chorus of complaints about the new standards. Earthjustice sued last month, saying the new rule doesn’t really cut air pollution but substitutes one type of pollution for another by encouraging the use of biofuels.
Dean Florez, an air resources board member, has said he voted against the changes because they could thwart the board’s clean air goals and “place an undue burden on low-income communities.”
Eliminating taxes on tips: State Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh wants to stop the state from taxing workers’ tips. Senate Bill 17 would exclude tips from gross income for state income taxes and unemployment insurance.
“Tips aren’t regular income, yet they’re taxed as if they are,” she said in a statement. “They’re not guaranteed, they’re not consistent, and they’re rarely enough to make ends meet.”
There’s no analysis yet on how much it would cost the state in tax revenue.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Justice Program: After moving from the Assembly to the Senate, one of state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes’ first actions was calling for a program to track Native Americans who are victims of crimes, including murder and human trafficking.
Her bill, SB 4, would establish the program within the Department of Justice and direct it to help law enforcement agencies investigate crimes on Indian lands, keep better records of those crimes and improve coordination between local law enforcement and tribal governments. Since 2015, there have been approximately 18 new cases of missing or murdered Indigenous persons in California every year, Cervantes wrote in an Instagram post.
It’s her second stab at creating the program; a similar bill made it through the legislature last year, but Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed it. In his rejection letter he said the bill would add new costs and duplicate existing state efforts to solve cases of missing and murdered tribal members.
Greg Wallis represents California’s 47th Assembly District.
