State lawmakers are expected to announce a $400 gas rebate proposal on Thursday for every California taxpayer.
The $9 billion funds would come from the state’s budget surplus, which is expected to be far more than the $45 billion projected in January.
Lawmakers said the $400 should help offset the gas tax Californians are paying at the pump. The $400 rebate would also reportedly go to taxpayers who don’t own or drive a car.
The lawmakers, who are mostly Democrats, that are announcing the proposal include Assemblymembers Cottie Petrie-Norris, Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, Jesse Gabriel, Adam Gray, Jacqui Irwin, Evan Low, Chad Mayes, Blanca Rubio, Sharon Quirk-Silva and Carlos Villapudua.
While some state Republicans wanted to suspend the state’s gas tax, doing so “offers no guarantee that oil companies would pass on the savings to consumers,” the letter said, according to the Los Angeles Times, which obtained the letter.
The letter added that suspending the tax would also “severely impact funding for important transportation projects.”
The ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russia has contributed to sticker shock at the pump all across the U.S. but especially in California, where taxes are highest.
The high prices, meanwhile, aren’t expected to abate anytime soon.