This past Wednesday, California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom finally put forth some details about his plans to try and sent $400 to California residents for every registered vehicle as the price of fuel continues to climb across the country.
This new plan, sporting a price tag of over $11 billion, is trying to help with the rising expenses Californians are dealing with in regards to fuel. Currently, the average price of regular unleaded gas in the state sits at $5.88 per gallon at the time of writing. In Los Angeles specifically, however, the average price for the same gallon of gas sits at a whopping $6.03.
This plan from Newsom has an allotment of $800 per person, which means that a single individual with two or more cars would be getting the max $800 dollar amount. Families that have cars that are registered to multiple family member names could end up getting even more.
“I appreciate Gov. Newsom’s work on developing another option to bring relief to Californians experiencing the rising cost of fuel and consumer goods,” stated Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego).
“The Senate is focused on ensuring that state money is targeted to those who actually need relief, and we look forward to working with Gov. Newsom, Speaker Rendon and our Legislative colleagues to quickly develop a proposal that delivers for struggling Californians,” he continued.
Newsom, however, has gone on record to claim that these rising gas prices are solely the responsibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his insane invasion of Ukraine which has caused the U.S. to place an oil embargo, all in spite of the fact that these price jumps started well before the war and have been happening ever since Old Uncle Joe managed to take office back in 2021.
“We’re taking immediate action to get money directly into the pockets of Californians who are facing higher gas prices as a direct result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” claimed Newsom in a release.
“But this package is also focused on protecting people from volatile gas prices, and advancing clean transportation – providing three months of free public transportation, fast-tracking electric vehicle incentives and charging stations, and new funding for local biking and walking projects,” he went on to say.
The current plan is slated to issue these payments in the way of $400 debit cards.
Newsom also posted some information in regards to the plan as part of a video put forth on Wednesday.
NEW: we’re proposing $11 BILLION in relief, including a $9 billion tax refund for rising gas prices.
– $400 per registered car
– 3 months of free public transitpic.twitter.com/XsAn0kuokP— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) March 23, 2022
Along with these $400 cards per registered car, the citizens of California are also eligible to get a pass for three months of free access to public transport.
This package advertised by the governor’s comments also seeks to provide roughly $2 billion in relief using more broad strokes:
- $750 million in incentive grants to transit and rail agencies to provide free transit for Californians for 3 months. As a result, roughly 3 million Californians per day who take the bus, subway, or light rail won’t have to pay a fare every time they ride.
- Up to $600 million to pause a part of the sales tax rate on diesel for one year.
- $523 million to pause the inflationary adjustment to gas and diesel excise tax rates.
“According to the DMV, there are more than 35.8 million registered vehicles in California, though that number includes people with multiple titles. Rebates would also go to drivers who have electric cars or those with lease agreements,” reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
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