A more significant impact is expected from the Low Carbon Fuel Standard program, approved by the state’s air resources board in November. This program aims to reduce California’s greenhouse gas emissions, but will result in stricter regulations on gas producers.
Warnings have been circulating for weeks that gas prices could rise even higher in the state — perhaps as high as $9 per gallon. High taxes and fuel standards already make California’s gas the most expensive in the U.S., and new taxes passed by the Democrat-controlled legislature and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom mean there is no end in sight.
One reason for the enthusiasm on the left for gas taxes is a desire to drive consumers into the electric vehicle (EV) market. California has banned the sale of new gas-powered vehicles, effective 2035. Yet drivers have been slow to buy EVs, and Newsom’s plan may be sunk by sagging demand.
Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of Trump 2.0: The Most Dramatic ‘First 100 Days’ in Presidential History, available for Amazon Kindle. He is also the author of The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency, now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.
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