SACRAMENTO - Today,
Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) released the following statement after Legislative Democrats passed the primary 2022-2023 Budget Bill:
“With an almost $100 billion surplus, rising gas prices, and skyrocketing inflation, the best relief Legislative Democrats came up with is a $200 refund that gets to you months down the road. But, unfortunately, that’s $16.66 per month, which for the record, won’t even cover your gas taxes paid this year,” said Leader Wilk.
“The White House is seriously weighing a federal gas tax holiday. We all know the quickest way to help Californians is by suspending the gas tax, but instead, we are stuck with the supermajority’s months-long squabble and broken promises.”
Contrary to today’s rhetoric, this budget is not the state’s final spending plan but merely a placeholder to meet the constitutional deadline of June 15 to pass the state’s budget. It lacks details on many critical spending proposals and does not reflect negotiations with Governor Newsom. Senate Republicans voted against the fake, placeholder budget.
According to a recent Cal Tax Foundation report, despite a massive projected surplus of $97.5 billion this year, legislative Democrats have no shame. They have introduced $194 billion in new legislation and fees. Read the CalTax report
here.
Last month, Senate Republicans delivered a specific list of budget priorities and outlined their top budget priorities to address affordability and homelessness. Click
here to read the full budget request letter.
--FULL Gas Tax Holiday - The state should immediately suspend the gas tax to reduce the cost of fuel for families suffering from record-high prices. The General Fund should backfill the revenues so that transportation projects will not be impacted.
--Lower Costs for Renters - To help offset rising rental costs, California should increase the renter’s tax credit to $1,000 for spouses filing joint returns, heads of households, and surviving spouses. It should also include a $500 tax credit for other individuals to provide temporary assistance for one of California’s most significant problems.
--California Student Tax Credit - To assist students with the rising costs of housing, transportation, or other school expenses, California should offer up to several thousand dollars in student tax credits per year for eligible students.
--Address Mental Health and Substance Abuse Needs - The state should invest $10 billion to build the facilities needed to address the related crises of mental health, substance abuse, and homelessness.
--Invest in Water Storage - The state must invest the $2.6 billion necessary to fully fund the already voter-approved Sites Reservoir that will provide water storage for 1.5 million homes annually.
--Prepare for Wildfires - The state needs to remove the red tape and roadblocks stalling wildfire prevention and treatment projects.
OP/ED Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of desertlocalnews.com and its members.
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