So why is it that while other states are now enjoying gas prices of less than $2 per gallon, California is still paying higher prices?

Due to high taxes and costly regulations, our state’s gas prices are higher than other states. It’s been that way for years.

But what’s new is that the gap between California’s and other states’ gas prices has grown.

To get a sense of the change, compare California gas prices with those of the nation as a whole. According to GasBuddy.com, even while overall prices have fallen, the gap has grown from about 32 cents per gallon just a month ago to as much as 47 cents this January.

That’s a 15 cent increase in just one month!

The likely culprit is a new “hidden gas tax” that took effect January 1. The new regulation expands the state’s cap-and-trade program to include transportation fuels. The expansion is the latest in a series of sweeping and costly regulations developed by the California Air Resources Board as it implements the California Global Warming Solutions Act.

Luckily for the Governor and his Air Board appointees, gas prices barely budged when the new rule kicked in; in fact,… Read More

Whenever there is a shortage of police personnel in a California city, a common reason cited is inadequate pay. When officers at a particular agency are paid less than their counterparts at some other agency, so the theory goes, they quit in order to start working where they can make more. This seems to be sound logic. But is it supported by facts?

According to a new study “Analysis of the Reasons for San Diego Police Department Employee Departures,” released last weekby the California Policy Center, the answer to that question is a resounding “no.” Authored by Robert Fellner, research director for theTransparent Californiaproject, the study’s findings contradicted the conventional wisdom. They were:

Claims that SDPD officers were leaving to join other departments misrepresented the data on attrition, by focusing on the 10% who left to join other departments, instead of the 60% who retired. These claims also misrepresented the overall data regarding staffing and … Read More

[Publisher’s Note: As part of an ongoing effort to bring original, thoughtful commentary to you here at the FlashReport, we are pleased to present this column from Rep. Darrell Issa.]

If you are new to the FlashReport, please check out the main site and the acclaimed FlashReport Weblog… Read More

[Publisher’s Note: As part of an ongoing effort to bring original, thoughtful commentary to you here at the FlashReport, we are pleased to present this column from Silvia Lopez.]

If you are new to the FlashReport, please check out the main site and the acclaimed FlashReport … Read More

One of the most significant labor relations fights in the country is currently taking place in California, yet much of the media has tried to ignore it. I’ve been writingaboutand covering this alarming situation for several years.

Reminiscent of former Venezuelan President Hugo… Read More

State Senators are considering legislation to increase California’s special taxes on gasoline at the pump. Current low gas prices make the idea of a gas tax hike seem more acceptable to Sacramento’s politicians, expecting the impact of the tax will not be felt as much by taxpayers as oil prices in general spiral downward. But for California’s growing poverty class of 24% of the state, the largest in the nation, any hike in the gas tax would be an economic tragedy.

Known as “consumption taxes”, California’s gas taxes are already among the highest in the nation. In 2013, the state Board of Equalization, which has some administrative powers over gasoline at the pump, raised the state excise portion of the tax by 9%, to 39.5 cents a gallon, only to jerk more modestly to adjust the rate downward last year to 36 cents a gallon. Other sales taxes and fees raise the overall gas tax in California another 14 cents, adding at least 50 cents per gallon in state taxation when you fill up your tank. Added on top of that are Federal taxes as well. Gasoline is already a very heavily taxed retail commodity in California.

With all the… Read More

Let’s be honest. When politicians and pundits discuss the state budget, very little is about the impact on homeowners. Notwithstanding the fact that a person’s home is their most important asset, this lack of perspective is understandable. When people think about political issues impacting their status as homeowners, they are far more likely to focus on local taxation – fees for utilities, parcel taxes, local bond debt, etc.

But state finances in California can – and do – have a profound impact on one’s status as a homeowner and, unfortunately, it is rarely in a good way. First, homeowners should be aware that there is no bright line between local governments and the state. State laws on school finance, redevelopment, law enforcement, natural resources and transportation have a huge impact the budgets of cities, counties and special districts.

Take schools, for example. Because of California Supreme Court rulings in the 1970’s, local school districts have lost a great deal of local control over their budgets. (Contrary to urban legend, loss of local control had very little to do with Prop 13). Much of K-12 funding now comes from the state. And the… Read More

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Why could the correct Republican win the 2016 California U.S. Senate seat now held by my former House colleague, retiring Senator Barbara Boxer? Well! Because the Democrats will anoint their Attorney General, “Princess ‘I kept my nose clean’” Kamala Harris. In Harris the Democrats have an attractive do nothing but a most precious of all multicultural candidates, a political two-fer: an attorney with a ticket who is a “woman of color.”

If the Senate contest were solely about qualifications, Harris would lose hands down as one “wag” pointed out. She has no legislative experience in either California or in Washington for this Senate job. Recall her terrible tenure described in the pages of the San Francisco Chronicle . As San Francisco’s District Attorney, she mismanaged evidence and investigations, resulting in the withdrawal of hundreds of criminal charges, the acts and omissions entirely in line with her permissive law enforcement views. Then, there’s the little matter of her reneging on her oath of office, when she refused to enforce laws she didn’t personally agree with such as the death penalty and California’s law prohibiting… Read More