Overview
- SB 1035, authored by Sen. Tony Strickland, failed to advance after a 2-2 tie in the Senate Environmental Quality Committee.
- The proposal sought a one‑year suspension of the state excise tax, state and local taxes, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and Cap‑and‑Trade costs, with backers estimating $1.08 per‑gallon savings.
- Strickland said he will try to revive the plan through the budget process and urged the governor to call a special session on fuel costs.
- The governor’s office pushed back on the notion that waiving taxes would bring down pump prices.
- California’s average price reached $5.616 per gallon on Thursday, the highest in the nation, as candidates float competing ideas from a temporary tax pause to easing refinery rules.