This week State Senator Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) submitted a letter to the California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) Chair Liane Randolph urging the board to postpone a vote next month on changes to its Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program. The letter, co-signed by 25 Republican legislators, calls on CARB to release the actual costs and benefits of those proposed changes to the public before voting on the changes.
“The 21st Senate District is home to four of the nation’s top ten highest percentage super commuter cities. In 2022, Palmdale ranked number one with 17% of the population commuting 90 minutes or more each day,” said Senator Wilk. “This proposed policy will be devastating to my constituents. CARB needs to come clean and share the data with Californians before enacting a policy that will make it even more expensive to live here.”
Californians already pay $1.50 per gallon more than the national average price of gas in 47 other states. Studies have indicated CARB’s proposed changes will add 65 to 85-cents per gallon next year, climbing to an increase of $1.50 by 2035.
Last summer, during public comment, CARB released an estimate showing the proposed policy would result in a 47-cent per gallon increase in gas prices. Other studies put the increase even higher. When asked for clarification, CARB clawed back the 47-cent number, promising to provide updated estimates before implementing any changes. CARB has yet to release any further estimates. The only available projection comes from a report by Dr. Danny Cullenward from Stanford University's School of Earth, Energy, and Environmental Sciences, which estimates an increase of 65 to 85 cents per gallon.
“If the estimates in the study are accurate, my constituents will pay another $10 to $15 every time they fill up their tank. With those long commutes to work, those tanks are filled multiple times a week. This policy will punish people for just going to work,” Senator Wilk concluded.
Unelected boards, like CARB are political appointees of Governor Newsom, and the Democratic Majority Party who control both the Assembly and the Senate. Wilk and Republican legislators believe that the legislature is the appropriate policy-making authority – not unelected boards like CARB that do not answer to Californians.