Democrats are in disarray at the California Capitol. As one headline put it:
GOP Move to Suspend Gas Tax Puts Assembly Democrats on Their Heels – the move pushed by Assemblyman Kevin Kiley left San Diego Democrats scrambling for a coherent response.
Spoiler alert: there was no coherent response. Some legislators told constituents they hadn’t read the bill (it’s quite short). Others complained about the parliamentary procedure I used, failing to mention they used the same procedure for other bills that very day.
Seeing that these excuses didn’t wash, Democrat legislators huddled and threw together a new plan: give every taxpayer a $400 “rebate.” They rolled it out at a subdued press conference in front of the Capitol yesterday morning.
When this exercise in face-saving was over, Gallagher and I were waiting (at a respectful distance, of course) and the gaggle of press came to us. You can watch our response here.
Truthfully, this is the first time I’ve ever seen the Supermajority propose returning money to taxpayers. That tells you how much Monday’s vote has rattled them. So I’m happy to encourage their idea, or better yet make the relief larger and permanent.
But it’s ridiculous to pitch this as a substitute for suspending the gas tax. Rebates would arrive months from now, without regard to fuel consumption; a gas tax suspension would save Californians 51 cents per gallon now.
Our Assembly GOP caucus is united, and every Republican Member of Congress signed a letter to Newsom supporting my bill. But this shouldn’t be partisan. We’re going to give our colleagues on the other side of the aisle another chance next week.
Tell your Assembly Member no more excuses. Vote yes on AB 1638.