Becerra Open to Mileage Tax After Newsom’s Spending Spree

In an interview with KCRA’s Ashley Zavala, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra said “everything should be on the table” when asked about a mileage-based tax to maintain California’s roads and bridges.“Our roads aren’t maintained just by some magic wand. We have to pay for it. Do I want to tax people more than necessary? No. Should we pay a gas tax? Yes. Should people who drive electric vehicles, who don’t need gas, pay for those roads to be repaired as well? Absolutely,” Becerra told Zavala. The full interview is available here.

Becerra’s comments come as California officials near the end of a study examining a vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) fee as a potential replacement or supplement to the gas tax. Estimates cited by critics have put a possible per-mile charge in the range of 6 to 9 cents—potentially adding hundreds of dollars annually for typical drivers on top of existing gas taxes, registration fees, and other costs.

As the California Globe has previously reported, Caltrans launched a road tax pilot program seeking volunteers to test paying by the mile rather than at the pump, requiring various tracking methods. The program raised immediate privacy concerns because a full-scale VMT system would almost certainly require ongoing government tracking of when and where drivers travel. Public opposition has repeatedly forced retreats, including when the San Diego Association of Governments permanently removed a proposed 3.3-cents-per-mile VMT tax from its regional plan after intense backlash, recognizing both the cost and the surveillance implications.

Becerra’s openness to the idea arrives against the backdrop of a dramatic expansion of state government spending under Governor Gavin Newsom that has left little tangible improvement in core infrastructure. 

As the California Globe has detailed, Newsom has increased the state budget by roughly 60% to 70% over his tenure. The Legislative Analyst’s Office has noted that the General Fund alone grew by about $100 billion, from roughly $146 billion in Newsom’s first full budget to $248 billion in later proposals. Total spending has climbed from the low-$200-billion range into the $320–$350 billion territory in recent years.

Despite some of the nation’s highest income, sales, and gas taxes, California continues to face structural deficits projected in the tens of billions of dollars annually. State operations and employee compensation have been major drivers of the growth, with civil service headcount rising sharply and hundreds of state workers earning more than $600,000 in total compensation in a single year—including one CalPERS investment official taking home more than $2.3 million. 

Meanwhile, roads and bridges remain in poor condition in many areas, high-speed rail continues to face massive cost overruns and delays, and homelessness spending has reached tens of billions, yet street homelessness has surged. 

Taxpayers have little to show for the runaway spending by Democrats except higher costs of living, persistent deficits, and now the prospect of yet another tax that would effectively turn ordinary driving into a tracked, metered activity by bureacrats. 

Becerra has also discussed other revenue ideas in the same interview, including a form of higher taxation on high earners and potential fees on corporations related to employee health coverage.

Despite Becerra’s suggestion that new revenue is needed for roads, critics argue the opposite: government doesn’t have a revenue problem, it has a spending problem. After Newsom expanded the budget by tens of billions with little improvement in infrastructure, another tax on drivers looks less like a solution and more like a refusal to confront the underlying waste, fraud, and abuse. 

With the election approaching, the mileage tax comments highlight the choice facing voters: more of the same spending-and-tax approach that has expanded government while core services and infrastructure crumble, or a different direction as promised by Republican challenger Steve Hilton. 

“Now we know that with Xavier Becerra as governor, you’ll pay an extra $1,000 a year just for driving your car,” Hilton said. “They never stop gouging you. First, it’s the highest gas prices in the country, then the highest car registration fees. Now they want to track you everywhere you drive and charge up to 10 cents a mile.” Hilton pledged to block the idea if elected: “As governor, I will veto the mileage tax. This is just another example of how you’ll save with Steve.”