.65 Cent-Per-Gallon Tax-Hike Halted By CARB Following Rejection By Office Of Administrative Law

A Low Carbon Fuel Standard gas tax increase by .65 cents previously approved by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) was halted on Tuesday following mandate changes being rejected by the Office Of Administrative Law.

In November of last year, CARB passed new Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) mandates. These mandates would create a new blend of gasoline to help meet California’s emission goals in the coming decades.

However, the new fuel will come at a price. Initially projected to be an extra 47 cents per gallon at the pump, new projections for 2025 show that price increases will actually be .65 cents more expensive.

This increase will increase California’s average gasoline price to exceed the national average by as much as 62% by the end of 2025.

At the time, CARB faced public scrutiny over the vote. With cost of living prices in California already high, a drastic increase of gas prices was seen as too overbearing by many. Some lawmakers, led by Senate Republicans, even brought forth a petition signed by over 13,000 Californians asking CARB to postpone the increase and introduce a new cost-benefit analysis.

Despite this, CARB refused to alter anything and went ahead with the new fuel standards and gas price increase. That was until Tuesday, when the Office of Administrative Law disapproved amendments to the LCFS mandate. Facing rejection, CARB went into damage control on Tuesday night, attempting to downplay the OAL’s decision.

“The Office of Administrative Law issued a routine disapproval of the LCFS amendments on technical grounds, not on the merits of the regulation,” said CARB spokesman Dave Clegern on Tuesday. “CARB will refine the language per OAL’s guidance and resubmit for approval. The LCFS remains in effect in its current form.”

A temporary halt

While CARB has 120 days to fix the issues and resubmit, lawmakers on Wednesday reacted strongly. Many called for the temporary halt to be made permanent, noting that the “routine disapproval” was anything but.

Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa) and Senator Brian Jones (R-San Diego) both called for the passage of SB 2 on Wednesday, which, if passed, would void the new LCFS amendments and end any rise in gas prices.

“Families in this state are already grappling with soaring living costs, and a gas price hike of 65 cents or more will only deepen their financial strain,” said Senator Bogh. “It’s deeply frustrating that the governor’s administration ignored calls for reconsideration from the start. However, I commend the countless Californians who stood alongside Republican lawmakers in fighting against this harmful increase.”

“The Newsom Administration’s 65-cent gas price hike has been PAUSED by CA’s Office of Administrative Law because it didn’t meet legal requirements,” added Senator Jones. “The unfair regulation failed to warn Californians accurately about the true impact it would have on gas prices. Newsom’s plan has always been to jack up the price of gas so high that you’re forced into an expensive EV. We’ve been fighting this since Day 1 and we won’t stop now. While this recent announcement is a momentary win, Newsom’s Air Resources Board has 120 days to address the issue and resubmit. Our Senate Bill 2 will protect Californians by repealing the gas price hike and holding this corrupt Administration accountable for trying to deceive the public.”

Overnight, SB 2 has become one of the GOP’s primary bills to pass this session, with lawmakers now racing against the 120 day clock to make significant progress in passing the bill to threaten ending the mandate.

“A lot can happen,” Dana, a Capitol staffer told the Globe Wednesday. “We can see a quick turnaround and ok of the amendments and SB 2 failing. Or we can see the amendments being rejected again and SB 2 flying through the legislature over concerns of how it can affect Californians wallets at a time of increased prices everywhere.

“And to make this even more chaotic, the Trump administration going after a lot of these Californian vehicle and environmental laws and mandates could influence how lawmakers vote even more. Who knows, the Trump administration could go after the LCFS mandates at some point. So that’s a factor too.

“Based on how things usually go, it will come down to how fast CARB can make those LCFS changes for approval, how successful Republicans are in passing SB 2 and if Governor Newsom would ever consider approving the bill. A lot of things can happen in the next several months.”