California Assembly Republican Caucus
An Affordable California
Making California more affordable for families to live in, and for small businesses to succeed is a top priority.
We will deliver a state where working families can afford their home, gas, utility bills and groceries. We will protect Prop 13 and reverse excessive fees, taxes, and regulations.
Energy
AB 65 (Mathis) Repeal Nuclear Moratorium
Under this proposal, development of new nuclear energy facilities in California will be permitted once again. Nuclear power is reliable, safe, and clean, and California desperately needs such a resource to overcome its electricity challenges. (Coauthors: Arambula, Hoover)
AB 1434 (Sanchez) Prohibit Ratepayer Funding of PUC Commissioners
Under this proposal, the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) would be barred from using ratepayer funds to, at the very least, pay the salaries of its commissioners. This is consistent with current law’s prohibition on using ratepayer funds to compensate electrical and gas investor owned utility (IOU) executives. Status: Failed in Assembly Appropriations Committee
AB 1591 (Wallis) CEC Dashboard
Require the CEC to create an online dashboard to show the real time breakdown of how much taxes, fees, regulations, and policies contribute to the difference between California’s gas prices and the national average. Provides a clear and transparent picture of how Sacramento policies are responsible for the inflated prices California motorists pay at the pump. (Coauthors: Alanis, Chen, Megan Dahle, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Vince Fong, Gallagher, Lackey, Mathis, Joe Patterson)
AB 1710 (Ta) Flexible Cap on Electricity Rates
This proposal restricts electric investor owned utilities’ (IOUs’) authority to increase their rates above inflation on average, unless they obtain support from a majority of customers through a customer election. Limiting California’s rampant growth in electrical rates thereby encourages the state and utilities to control energy costs. Status: Failed in Assembly Appropriations Committee
Gas Tax Suspension
AB 16 (Dixon) Gas Tax Annual Increase Suspension
Allows the Governor to suspend the annual gas tax increase due to hardship on low-income and middle class families. Provides an escape hatch to prevent gas taxes from automatically increasing as Californians struggle with record high gas prices and 40-year high inflation. (Coauthors: Essayli, Mathis, Joe Patterson, Ta) Status: Assembly Transportation Committee
AB 53 (Fong) Gas Tax Holiday
Suspends the state’s gas tax for one year to reduce gas prices by ~50 cents/gallon. Enacts a “gas tax holiday” to provide immediate relief at the pump, and backfills lost transportation revenues from the state’s General Fund. (Coauthors: Chen, Megan Dahle, Mathis, Joe Patterson, Sanchez, Waldron) Status: Assembly Transportation Committee
AB 1265 (Gallagher) Eliminates Hidden Gas Tax
Repeals a regulation on transportation fuels that adds 14 cents to the price of a gallon of gasoline. Eliminates a “hidden gas tax” and lowers prices at the pump. (Coauthors: Alanis, Chen, Megan Dahle, Essayli, Flora, Mathis, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson, Ta) Status: Assembly Natural Resources Committee
AB 1561 (Gallagher) Fuel Blend Flexibility
Requires the state to transition early from summer-blend gasoline to winter-blend gasoline whenever the market experiences a sudden and unusual price spike. Creates a release valve to provide automatic relief when gas prices surge.
Housing
AB 394 (Hoover) Encourage Housing
Provide a property tax bonus to cities and counties that approve more housing by redirecting funds from the document-recording fee (SB 2, Atkins, 2017). Incentivize locals to provide more housing production rather than imposing state mandates will speed the permit and review process, thereby increasing affordability for Californians. (Coauthors: Gallagher, Mathis)
AB 978 (Patterson, Joe) CEQA – Bond for Bad Faith Lawsuits
Authorize Bond Requirements for CEQA Lawsuits: Authorize a court to require someone filing a CEQA lawsuit involving a housing project to post a bond and risk having to pay money to compensate for losses to the project, like grant funding because of missed deadlines. (Coauthors: Gallagher)
AB 1700 (Hoover) CEQA - Population Growth and Noise Impacts: Housing Projects
Provides that population growth, resulting from a housing project, or noise from a housing project, are not an effect on the environment for purposes of CEQA. Ensures that critical housing — such as that denied to a student housing development at UC Berkeley by the State Court of Appeals on February 24 — will not be denied due to spurious noise claims.
Tax Cuts
AB 14 (Davies) Working Families Tax Credit
Provide an additional income tax credit to help working taxpayers afford the expense of child care. Reduces state income tax an additional $500.00 for taxpayers that have child care costs. (Coauthors: Alanis, Chen, Dixon, Essayli, Vince Fong, Mathis, Sanchez, Ta) Status: Failed in Assembly Revenue & Taxation Committee
AB 17 (Alanis) Lower Income Tax Rates for the Middle Class
Reduce the tax burden on the middle class by reducing income tax rates for those middle- and low-income taxpayers. Allow taxpayers to keep more of their wages.
AB 59 (Gallagher) Renters Tax Credit Expansion
Change the income eligibility for the Renters’ Tax Credit to allow more taxpayers to qualify for the benefit. Allow more taxpayers to receive this benefit by increasing the income level to reflect the median income in California. (Coauthors: Assemblymembers Alanis, Chen, Davies, Dixon, Essayli, Flora, Hoover, Mathis, Jim Patterson, Joe Patterson; Senators Dahle, Jones, Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto) Status: Failed in Assembly Appropriations Committee