Sacramento – As gas prices rise in California and nationally because of the war in Iran, two Democrats running for California governor are calling on the state to temporarily suspend its fuel tax or ease refinery regulations in an effort to reduce costs.
Standing in front of a gas pump in a video posted on social media, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan said the cost is “becoming an emergency for working families, and I think we need to act like it.”
Liberal Democrats called on state lawmakers to suspend California’s gas tax, which at 61 cents a gallon is the highest in the nation.
Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa also called for an “immediate halt” to the regulations, which he blamed for placing an “excessive burden” on California refineries and working families.
“These failed policies are not only hurting millions of Californians, they are also terrible for the environment because they have forced California to rely on foreign oil imported from the Middle East,” Villaraigosa said in a statement.
The cost of living in California, including the price at the pump, remains an important issue for voters in the state, and it has become the focus of Mahan and Villaraigosa’s liberal-leaning campaigns as they attempt to differentiate themselves in the hotly contested race for governor.
The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in California on Monday was $5.52, the highest in the country and more than 50 cents more than in any other state, according to AAA. The national average was $3.71, up from the previous month’s average of $2.92.
Gasoline prices in California are often the highest in the country for several reasons, including environmental regulations that require a unique blend of clean-burning fuels.
The state also relies mostly on crude oil imported from other countries including Brazil, Iraq and Guyana and processed in the state’s refineries. According to California Energy Commission data, in 2025, 61% of the oil processed at California refineries was imported, while 23% of the oil produced in the state was imported.
Dependence on foreign oil has increased California more sensitive to price increases During global conflicts and other disruptions.
Republicans have long supported suspending the gas tax and cutting regulations to lower prices at the pump.
GOP gubernatorial candidate and former Fox News host Steve Hilton outlined a plan to lower California gas prices to $3 a gallon by cutting regulations including the low-carbon fuel standard, a rule that requires cleaner-burning gas to reduce tailpipe emissions.
The other prominent Republican in the race, Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco, supports suspending the gas tax, according to his website.
The current price surge is reminiscent of 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine and disrupted global oil markets.
As prices eventually fell in the rest of the country that year, they remained high for months in California, leading Governor Gavin Newsom to wage war on oil and gas companies. He accused them of raising prices Drivers and supporting laws requiring companies to report their profit margins keep fuel supply running Hand To prevent shortage and price rise.
The governor dropped his fight with oil companies last year after announcing plans to close two refineries. In September, he signed legislation to permit 2,000 new oil wells in Kern County, indicating his acknowledgment that his war on oil companies threatens California’s gas market boom.
Republican state lawmakers pushed to temporarily suspend California’s excise tax on gasoline in 2022, arguing that it would provide immediate relief to California drivers. That effort was rejected by Newsom and Democratic lawmakers, but they later approved $9.5 billion in tax refunds to Californians, giving families up to $1,050 in financial relief from record-high gasoline prices and other rising costs.
In 2017, the Democratic-controlled Legislature passed Senate Bill 1, which then-Gov. Jerry Brown signs legislation enacting the state’s first gas tax increase in 23 years to fix California’s dilapidated roads and bridges. Under law, the tax increases each year on July 1 based on the increase in the California Consumer Price Index.
California voters are on the fence about regulation of the state’s oil industry, according to an august survey By the Public Policy Institute of California. It found that more than 60% of adults support goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and generate electricity from renewable energy sources.
But according to the survey, the majority also said the cost of gasoline and utility bills is a big problem for them personally.
Mahan and Villaraigosa are the only two Democrats to publicly call for rolling back regulations on the state’s oil and gas market, reflecting political ambiguity amid California’s climate and affordability challenges.
Yet, Democratic lawmakers – who hold supermajorities in the state Senate and Assembly – continue to shut down proposals to halt the gas tax, arguing that the state would lose much-needed funding for roads.
Assemblymember Coty Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) said, “If anyone has a proposal about how to recoup the (transportation) revenue, I’m open to that conversation, but as of right now, it’s just a political thing.”
Petrie-Norris chairs the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee and has helped lead legislative efforts to stabilize California’s fuel market without deviating from goals of achieving carbon neutrality.
“When I ask people, ‘Do you want cheaper gas, cleaner air or safer roads?’ They say yes. So they want us to do all three.” “We have to be honest with Californians about the trade-offs so we can have a real conversation.”
Mahan stressed the importance of collecting gas tax revenue.
“The truth is that we have the highest taxes in the country and a 350 billion dollar budgetAnd we need to be able to build our roads and enable working families to put food on the table,” he said in an interview. “I just reject the notion that if we provide temporary relief to working families who are being pushed to the brink of war, the sky will fall.”
The mayor of San Jose said the state should suspend the fuel tax in Iran “for the duration of the war” or as long as gas prices in the state are above $5 a gallon. He also called for a “massive regulatory overhaul that drives down costs across the board”, including rules on refineries.
If elected governor, Villaraigosa said he would “reform and transform” the California Air Resources Board, which enforces many of the state’s environmental laws – including the low-carbon fuel standard and cap-and-invest program.
“We can no longer allow bureaucrats who live in a bubble — with no accountability for the damage they are doing to our economy and our people — to have so much power over the lives of every Californian,” Villaraigosa said in a statement.
