No relief at the pump: California gas tax to hit nation-high 63 cents on July 1

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA) - California drivers already facing nearly $6 per gallon will soon pay even more.

Starting July 1, the state's motor vehicle fuel tax will automatically climb to over 63 cents per gallon, cementing it as the highest rate in the country.

The price hike comes on the heels of a failed legislative battle in Sacramento.

Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez (R-District 36) introduced Assembly Bill 1745, which sought a temporary, one-year suspension of the gas tax to provide direct financial relief to hardworking families, commuters, and small businesses struggling with inflation.

The legislative effort was officially killed when the Democratic supermajority on the Assembly Transportation Committee blocked the bill from advancing.

Democratic lawmakers argued that pausing the tax would strip essential revenue from vital public works, creating an unsafe funding gap for ongoing road and highway infrastructure projects.

Assemblymember Gonzalez and his Republican colleagues strongly pushed back against that argument. They advocated for covering the infrastructure deficit by pulling funds directly from California's General Fund, rather than placing the burden back onto the taxpayers.

"They claim to be the fourth largest economy with the highest revenue…record revenue," Gonzalez said. "We're still choosing to continue to tax the very people that are working hardest in our community."

The automatic annual tax increase stems from Senate Bill (SB) 1, a law passed in 2017 that built in a mandatory yearly rate hike without requiring a vote from the Legislature. When SB 1 originally passed, the tax was 27.8 cents per gallon.

By next month, that rate will have more than doubled in less than a decade.

Gonzalez criticized the committee's decision, stating that Sacramento politicians are completely out of touch with the realities faced by rural commuters in regions like Imperial County.

"63 cents doesn't sound like a lot, but 63 cents times the number of gallons, times the miles we drive, that's a lot of money," Gonzalez added. "That's a lot of money that could be spent towards feeding your family, sending your kids to school, healthcare costs."

The Assemblymember extended an open invitation to lawmakers to visit local cities like Calexico, Brawley, El Centro, and Holtville to see firsthand how hard residents must work just to keep up with skyrocketing fuel costs.

Without a legislative lever to pause the 2017 mandate, California drivers can expect these automatic tax increases to continue taking effect every summer.