CA Gas Tax Will Increase As Skyrocketing Prices Investigated

CALIFORNIA — Democrats vowed to investigate skyrocketing gas prices in the Golden State on Tuesday as the state heads toward another gas tax increase in July.

Gas prices dipped slightly over the holiday weekend, but California drivers were still feeling pain at the pump on Tuesday, paying $6.38 on average for a gallon of regular gas — the highest price in the nation.

Prices were set to increase again on July 1 as the state's annual gas tax increases 5.6 percent.

Lawmakers this week said they were set to investigate elevated prices and whether oil companies were "abusing a historic situation to suck profits from Californians' wallets."

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon launched a bipartisan committee with fellow Democratic lawmakers to investigate any gas price gouging.

"We have put ourselves in a situation because of our addiction to the gas-powered engine," Rendon said, according to The Associated Press. "Yet, that is no excuse for the actions of those who pin California drivers down with a foot on our necks and a hand in our pockets."

A 2019 review by state regulators suggested big oil companies were “misleading and overcharging” customers by as much as $1 per gallon, resulting in California drivers paying an additional $11.6 billion at the pump over a five-year period, compared to other states.

READ MORE: CA Man Fired After Selling Gas For 69 Cents A Gallon: Report

Gov. Gavin Newsom previously requested an investigation by the state attorney general, but the investigation was still pending nearly three years later.

“We are still waiting with no relief in sight,” Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher said. “We need action now.”

Republicans scrutinized the committee on Tuesday as the state barreled toward a July 1 gas tax increase.

"Californians are being crushed at the gas pump and are demanding immediate relief. Instead of suspending the state’s gas tax, Sacramento Democrats are creating a committee? Enough with the political antics, suspend the gas tax now," Assemblyman Vince Fong said.

Prices dropped from $6.43 to $6.38 in one week ahead of the gas tax increase.

"The recent high prices may have led to a small drop in domestic gasoline demand as fewer drivers fueled up last week," AAA spokesperson Andrew Gross said in a news release. "This dip, coupled with less costly oil, has taken some steam out of surging pump prices. And this is happening right before drivers gas up for what AAA forecasts will be a busy July 4th travel weekend."

Democrats have claimed that suspending the gas tax would benefit only big oil companies, whom state regulators accused in the past of artificially inflating prices in a state that has more than 36 million registered vehicles on the road.

Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president and CEO of the Western States Petroleum Association, said she agreed Californians were paying too much for fuel and warned "it could only get worse" if state officials don't "take responsibility and act not to change the dangerous mix of bans, mandates and bad energy policy they are pushing on our state."

“This Legislature and the governor should be urgently addressing these policy matters rather than holding press conferences calling for more investigations that time after time have found our industry is acting responsibly,” Reheis-Boyd said.

California gas prices have historically been among the country's highest, prompting a number of previous studies and inquiries by state officials — including an investigation by former Attorney General Bill Lockyer, who was outraged when prices reached $1.71 per gallon in San Francisco in 1999.

Californians have paid more and more at the pump for months now, and despite a slight reprieve during the spring, prices were still elevated going into the summer months.

In some areas, gas prices have reached hair-raising heights. A Chevron station in downtown Los Angeles charged $8.05 per gallon for regular gas, the Los Angeles Times reported. On Saturday, members of the Brown Beret National Party protested high gasoline prices at a Chevron gas station in downtown Los Angeles.

On the other end of the state, Schlafer's Auto Repair in Mendocino charged $9.60 per gallon for regular gas, CNN previously reported.

Gas prices have also risen nationally, increasing to $4.96 per gallon of regular gasoline.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.