For most, July 1 is nothing more than just another rectangle on the calendar before a major holiday. In California, it has become a day of dread – the day gasoline prices jump because of another fuel tax hike in the state that already punishes its drivers with the highest prices in the nation.

Lawmakers passed, and then Gov. Jerry Brown signed, Senate Bill 1 in 2017. Known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act, it was Sacramento’s promise that the state’s cracked, potholed, car-busting and outdated streets, highways, and bridges would be fixed. All that had to be done was tax California motorists enough to generate $52 billion or so over the next decade.

The initial tax hike hit right away, with a 12-cents-per-gallon kick in the teeth on Nov. 1, 2017. The first of the annual July 1 increases arrived in 2019. Tuesday’s jump moved the state excise tax on gasoline to 61.2 cents per gallon, up from 59.6 cents a gallon. The diesel tax rose from 45.4 to 46.6 cents per gallon.

The total state excise tax on gasoline, the highest in the nation, is now more than 71 cents a gallon, far higher than the 27.8 cents a gallon that it was in 2016, just before SB1 became law and began inflicting its pain. While the rest of the country enjoys the lowest summer gasoline prices since 2021, California refuses to take the sting out of driving.

For all the dollars that California motorists have been separated from, they should be cruising easy on smooth streets made of gold. They are not. Road conditions are actually deteriorating – the state is ranked 49th in the nation, falling two spots from its previous position. Only about 72% of the streets and highways are considered acceptable, well below the national average of 81%.

Tuesday also marked the latest update of the state’s low-carbon fuel standard. The purpose of the LCFS is to direct public and private sector funding toward “increasing cleaner fuel and transportation options for Californians,” says the California Air Resources Board. It is also designed to accelerate “the deployment of zero-emission infrastructure,” and push the state toward achieving “legally mandated air quality and climate targets.” 

Prices won’t rise immediately, but the state says they could spike by 47 cents a gallon due to the LCFS revision. Independent estimates project far more damage, with prices rising from 65 cents a gallon to as much as 85 cents a gallon.

Lawmakers must think that because it’s the Golden State, pricing gasoline and diesel as if they were gold is not a problem. They could have reprioritized spending and made the road repairs without raising taxes every July 1. But they don’t care that millions will be hurt by the higher cost just as long as they can spend other people’s money without any restraints.

— Written by the I&I Editorial Board