Recall Sen. Josh Newman, yet again
How do you like the new gastax hike? It seems small at 0.6 cents per gallon. But it’s the latest siphon from your wallet, an inflation adjustment, from the tax hike imposed in 2017 by Senate Bill 1. The key vote was by Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton.
A tax increase requires a two-thirds vote in the Assembly and Senate. Newman provided the key 27th of 40 votes in the Senate. The total SB 1 tax now stands at 21.5 cents. Including previous state gas taxes, the total now is 51.1 cents. On top of that, the federal tax is 18.4 cents.
On June 5, 2018, 58% of the voters booted Newman from office and replaced him with Republican Ling Ling Chang, a nice person and friend to taxpayers. Unfortunately, last November massive and vicious public-employee union hit pieces against Chang let Newman slink back into office.
His Senate District 29 is a “purple” district straddling the counties of OC, Riverside and San Bernardino. Back in 2017 he was supposed to be the voice of moderation, but ended up backing the spendthrift establishment.
The tax increase amounts to $5 billion a year. You can see the construction in places. But the problem is all tax increases now just go to public-employee pensions, as Jon Coupal points out; he’s the president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
That’s because previous tax increases for roads were raided for other purposes. And because public-employee pensions are protected by the state Constitution by way of the so-called California Rule. The pensions take precedence over everything else except paying state bonds.
Just after SB 1 passed, William Shugart and Kristian Fors wrote in the Register, “In reality, motor-fuel taxes have been looking less and less like user fees in California and elsewhere because state legislatures (and the U.S. Congress) periodically raid highway trust funds to pay for unrelated programs.”
The state general fund currently is hit for about $15 billion a year for unfunded state pensions and retiree health care, up from close to zero two decades ago. Imagine if we could shift just $5 billion of that to roads, and cancel SB 1.
According to GasBuddy.com, on the morn of July 1, first day of the latest tax hike, the average price of gas in California was $4.28 a gallon, higher even than Hawaii, often the highest, at $3.94. Neighboring Arizona was $3.11. Lowest were Mississippi and Louisiana at $2.74, followed by Texas at $2.79.
In my creaking, wheezing 2010 Camry, I fill up with about 15 gallons a week. If I lived in Arizona, I would save $7.55 a fill-up. That’s $913 a year.
For me, SB 1’s portion of 21.4 cents a gallon from the SB 1 tax clocks at $3.21 a week, or $167 a year. Thanks, Josh.
And let’s not forget the billions already wasted on the high-speed rail boondoggle. As we go to press the Legislature now is reluctant to blow another $4 billion requested by Gov. Gavin Newsom — who himself two years ago criticized the project because it “would cost too much and take too long.”
But the billions already wasted also could fill millions of potholes.
One might think Newman would heed voters’ chastisement and work to repeal SB 1. Instead, he tried to get revenge against the recall process.
According to columnist Dan Walters, “Newman’s Senate Bill 663 would allow targets of recall campaigns to access the lists of recall petition signers and try to persuade them to remove their signatures. Current law allows only election officials to access their names to validate signatures.”
Newman later withdrew the bill. But combined with his gouge-at-the-pump vote, his bill is reason enough to recall him — again.