Lawmakers to vote on spending proposal
— California lawmakers, on Wednesday, were taking up a $308 billion state budget that will fund a Democratic wish-list of public spending on everything from expanded healthcare for immigrants and low-income residents to giving taxpayers an inflation refund and helping more women access abortion care.
The centerpiece of the operating budget crafted by Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders is $17 billion in new spending aimed at providing relief for the soaring inflation that has increased prices for most things, notably gasoline.
About 23 million people will get cash payments of between $200 and $1,050 to help pay for gas, which averaged more than $6.30 per gallon in California, on Tuesday. How much people get will depend on how much they make. Only couples who make below $500,000 per year and single people who make below $250,000 per year will be eligible.
Businesses will get $2.3 billion, including a yearlong suspension of the state sales tax on diesel fuel that reduce costs by about 23 cents per gallon. Between 80% and 90% of diesel fuel customers in California are business owners, according to the California Department of Finance.
The spending package “represents the largest state budget — I’m not just talking about California, but any state in the history of the US,” said state Sen. Nancy Skinner, a Democrat from Berkeley and chair of the Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee.
Meanwhile, the state sales tax on gasoline, the second-highest in the nation at 51.1 cents per gallon, will go up nearly another three cents, on Friday, part of an annual recalculation to keep up with inflation. Republicans have tried in vain to convince Democrats to suspend the sales tax for one year, arguing it would benefit taxpayers faster than a rebate check.
“The governor could have suspended the gas tax or stopped the gas tax increase that will happen on Friday, July 1. He did not,” said Republican Assemblymember Vince Fong, vice chair of the Assembly Budget Committee.