The misinformation campaigns trumpeting an imminent “hidden gas tax” in California lost a battle with the defeat of Assemblymember Henry Perea's bill, A.B. 69, which was designed to delay application of cap-and-trade to the fuels industry for three years.
Senate President Pro Tem Darryl Steinberg sent a letter to Perea [PDF] explaining his decision not to let A.B. 69 go forward. The bill may not have had much of a chance of passing anyway, but this settles the question without the Senate or Assembly having to take it up in the final few days of the legislative session.
A.B. 69 was originally a bill about water quality, and had been considered and passed in the Assembly as such, when at the last minute Perea completely rewrote it, in what's called a “gut and amend.” At that point, it was in the Senate, where it would have had to pass out of several committees and then pass with at least a two-thirds vote on the Senate floor before the Assembly could take it up.
Steinberg killed it in the Rules Committee. In his letter to Perea, he wrote that “bringing non-stationary fuels under the cap is not an unforeseen issue that demands legislation which sidesteps the democratic process.” And “a measure of this importance should not be considered in the final weeks of a two-year session.”
Senator Steinberg's letter discussed the consequences California is already facing from climate change and addressed the “economics of doing nothing”:
Jobs: “Stalling California's clean transportation program would result in thousands of lost jobs from reduction in clean transportation investment. Using the federal-state formula, transportation infrastructure investment in this year's budget alone will result in more than 8,000 jobs.”
Health costs: “A May 2014 study from the American Lung Association finds that California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard and bringing fuels under the cap will save Californians over $10 billion in health and societal economic costs by 2020.”
Fuel costs: “The average Californian will pay 20 percent less in fuel bills by 2020 as a result of AB 32 thanks to increased diversity and competition among fuel suppliers.”
The Legislative Analyst's Office estimated that the price of gas might go up between 13 and 20 cents a gallon, but points out that the amount is less than the fluctuations in gas prices Californians have experienced in the last year [PDF].
Streetsblog California editor Melanie Curry has been thinking about transportation, and how to improve conditions for bicyclists, since her early days commuting by bike to UCLA long ago. She was Managing Editor at the East Bay Express, and edited Access Magazine for the University of California Transportation Center. She also earned her Masters in City Planning from UC Berkeley.
It's a good time to take a peek at how sustainable transportation and related topics are showing up on legislators' priorities. Here's a very NON-comprehensive list.