California Senate and Assembly Republicans gathered on the steps of the Capitol Wednesday to call out Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers for what they described as 100 days of inaction on suspending the gas tax. Republicans have pushed for the measure since January.
The tax is 51.1 cents per gallon, set to increase to 53.9 cents on July 1.
Claim: Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, said Californians missed out on big savings because the tax was not suspended in January.
“In fact if we had done it when we called for it at the beginning of the year, everyone would have saved over $2,400 right now,” said Gallagher.
Rating: False
Details: Casey Dunn, press secretary for the California Assembly Republican Caucus, said in an email that Assemblyman Gallagher misspoke. Dunn said that savings would be in the hundreds of dollars, with the exact amount depending on the vehicle and mileage driven.
Here’s what The Bee found through a quick analysis.
According to AAA, the average price of gas in California is $6.435 a gallon. Filling a 12-gallon tank would cost about $77.22 at that price. Subtract 51 cents a gallon, and it’s closer to $71.10, a savings of $6.12.
It means that someone filling their tank at that rate once a week beginning in January would save a little over $134. To save $2,400, a person would have to fill up 392 times.
Families with multiple vehicles might have saved hundreds if the tax were suspended. However, opponents of suspension have argued that nothing would stop the oil and gas industry from raising prices to make up for the reduction.
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