WATCH: Bill would suspend California gas tax for one year

Audio By Carbonatix

 Editor's note: This story has been updated to add a video.

(The Center Square) – California drivers and their wallets would get some relief at the pump if a new bill passes the state Legislature this year.

Assembly Bill 1745, introduced by Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez, R-Indio, would suspend the state’s gas tax for one year. The tax currently sits at 61 cents a gallon, according to lawmakers with knowledge of the bill.

“Californians pay among the highest gas prices in the nation,” Gonzalez said Tuesday at a press conference announcing the bill.

“While families are tightening their belts, Sacramento continues to ask them for more," he told reporters at the Capitol in Sacramento. "Parents should not have to choose between paying for gas or buying groceries.”

According to AAA, California had the highest gas prices in the country on Tuesday. The average price of a gallon of gas in California was $4.63 a gallon, followed closely by Hawaii at $4.40 a gallon, Washington state at $4.35, Oregon at $3.91, Nevada at $3.70, Arizona at $3.25, Pennsylvania at $3.13 and Vermont at $3.

The lowest gas prices in the country on Tuesday were in Oklahoma, where the average price of gas was $2.37 a gallon, according to AAA’s fuel prices tracker. The national average price was $2.95.

“High gas taxes, rising fees and decisions from the politicians who control the capital are making it harder for working families to make ends meet,” said Assemblymember Leticia Castillo, R-Corona, during the press conference. “This bill is a simple common-sense solution. It would temporarily suspend the gas tax and put real money back into your pockets when you need it the most.”

The effort to temporarily lift the gas tax in California follows a bill introduced by Assemblymember Lori Wilson, D-Suisun City and chair of the Assembly Transportation Committee, that would study the impact and feasibility of imposing a per-mile road user charge on California’s drivers. Assembly Bill 1421 was introduced in response to fears of declining gas tax revenue as more California drivers buy electric cars – eliminating the need to fill up a vehicle’s tank.

The gas tax pays for the state’s roads and highway system, according to previous reporting by The Center Square. An elimination of that tax, even temporarily, would create a funding gap for the state’s roads that Republican lawmakers on Tuesday said they want to backfill with general fund money.

“By pausing this gas tax, we need to make sure that we replace it from the general,” Gonzalez said in response to a Center Square question after the press conference on Tuesday. “It has to be replaced. We’re doing this on the backs of Californians. We need to find a place to get it from and we can get it from the general [fund].”

Data from the Tax Foundation shows that California has the highest gas taxes in the country, at 70.92 cents a gallon. Illinois has the second-highest gas taxes in the country, at 66.4 cents per gallon, followed by 59.04 cents per gallon in Washington state and 58.7 per gallon in Pennsylvania. 

Alaska has the lowest gas taxes in the country – 8.95 cents per gallon.

Suspending the tax has support from associations that represent gas marketers in California, who said on Tuesday that the gas tax adds to the strain for many of the state's families.

“For families commuting to work, getting kids to school or traveling long distances in rural communities, every cent matters,” said Elizabeth Graham, CEO of California Fuels & Convenience Alliance at the press conference. “Suspending the gas tax would provide immediate, visible relief at the pump. When consumers keep more of their own money, that supports other local businesses and strengthens our communities.”