How high are your gas prices in your town? The gas tax for the State of California is currently at 40.62 cents per gallon.

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

As if gas prices aren't already high enough, a proposed Federal tax increase would raise prices 24 cents a gallon.

President Obama Proposes $10 per Barrel Carbon Tax https://t.co/45A04dBPM6 pic.twitter.com/nhX1utyfY7

— Watts Up With That (@wattsupwiththat) February 5, 2016

#Oil prices are dropping yet the price for gas in #CA is still high. This is because of #taxes and the #CAgovernment https://t.co/p3QSjz2WVx

— HJTA.org (@HJTA) February 5, 2016

BREAKING: White House says it will propose $10/barrel fee on oil, paid by oil companies, to cover costs of green transportation proposals.

— CNBC Now (@CNBCnow) February 4, 2016

Proposed Federal tax hike would raise gas prices 24 cents/gallon https://t.co/dYZ3pq8uaz

— HJTA.org (@HJTA) February 5, 2016

This is 2016 politics, an attempt to paint GOP as pro-Big Oil before elections. And it could work. https://t.co/0jBy2eW7cr

— Matthew Continetti (@continetti) February 4, 2016

WH says principal objectives of the new oil fee is to help reduce carbon pollution, cut oil consumption, and create new jobs.

— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) February 4, 2016

Can someone ask Hillary Clinton why Obama is even considering making gas more expensive right now?

— RBe (@RBPundit) February 4, 2016

Hi. I'm a Democrat and it's an election year and I'm here to raise your gas prices. #onmessage

— John Podhoretz (@jpodhoretz) February 4, 2016

California pays around 59 cents on the gallon in gasoline taxes. This is higher than 46 other states.

Why are gas prices in California so high? Blame it on taxes. https://t.co/9I38eymmaq (via @HannahMadans)

— O.C. Register (@ocregister) January 26, 2016

#California pays around 59 cents on the gallon in #gasoline #taxes. This is higher than 46 other states. https://t.co/yFpaG2WlJX

— HJTA.org (@HJTA) January 26, 2016

Gas in Massachusetts down to $2 per gallon

Gas in Massachusetts down to $2 per gallon https://t.co/OrMmhlWD52

— Boston Herald (@bostonherald) December 21, 2015

A proposal under consideration by the Legislature would mandate a massive 50% gas cut and let unelected bureaucrats figure out the details. They could even launch new subsidies for the purchase of millions of new electric cars and send taxpayers the astronomical bill.

Sacramento wants to cut gas in half & let bureaucrats worry about the details #SB350 @OCTaxAssoc http://t.co/IM4vFKIKYx #CAPolitics

— HJTA.org (@HJTA) August 18, 2015

The politicians have just returned from vacation and at the top of their agenda is a $3 billion gas tax increase. Call them now and tell them gas taxes are too high already!

@HJTA Called Jim Beall's office made my opposition clear to SB 1 the 12 cent gas tax (Senator Jim Beall, D-San Jose) 916-651-4015 #taxes

— Tressy Capps (@tlc2tweet) August 17, 2015

Politicians want higher taxes, but CA is a high tax state that wastes billions, plus has a $6B surplus http://t.co/dI1AKdIEIJ #CAPolitics

— HJTA.org (@HJTA) August 17, 2015

The politicians always want more money, but taxpayers need to point out California is already a high tax state that drives away jobs and productive citizens while wasting billions of dollars a year.

Politicians are constantly trying to raise taxes, but they often try to hide where the money goes http://t.co/XDOOhTruhW #tcot

— HJTA.org (@HJTA) August 10, 2015

Do CA politicians not have enough money for roads? No, the facts reveal they have a spending problem http://t.co/CEtUExW5IQ #CAPolitics

— HJTA.org (@HJTA) August 8, 2015

Latest California Proposal Features Gas RationingA bill so bad even some Democrats are speeding away from it!

Latest California Proposal Features Gas Rationing http://t.co/XkzZYOJmOW

— Legal Insurrection (@LegInsurrection) August 11, 2015

Apparently, there is no economy-crushing law the state of California won’t consider.

The latest in legislative insanity comes from Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de Leon, and is entitled Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015 (SB 350). Ultimately, should it pass, it will give one of the most aggressive state agencies in the nation the power to impose “fees” and ration gas.

Calif gas prices..No one is talking

Calif gas prices..No one is talking pic.twitter.com/VdZN2a2U93

— Michael Reagan (@ReaganWorld) July 15, 2015

In California: Environmentalists Make Los Angeles Gas Twice as Expensive

California gas prices to soar this week, maybe as much as 30 cents in the Bay Area http://t.co/YiCqeQ9wWK @mrroadshow pic.twitter.com/AM0gqp8h8N

— Mercury News (@mercnews) July 12, 2015

Environmentalists Make Los Angeles Gas Twice as Expensive | Frontpage Mag http://t.co/svAAV2PVkv

— Daniel Greenfield (@Sultanknish) July 12, 2015

There's an effort in the Legislature right now to raise gas taxes - despite that California already has some of the nation's highest gas taxes.

◼ More Pain at the Pump - Jon Coupal/Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

Sacramento is about to launch a new attack in its ongoing war on drivers.

California’s 48.6 cent gas tax already ranks second out of 50 states –- the feds take another 18.4 cents — and when the hidden carbon tax, part of the cap-and-trade program, is factored in, our state leads the pack by a wide margin. But this is not nearly enough, according to the political class.

Sen. Jim Beall is building a coalition of both Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature to hike gas taxes along with vehicle license fees and registration.

The San Jose lawmaker’s Senate Bill 16 slams taxpayers in three ways. First, it would raise at least $3 billion annually by increasing the gas tax by another 10 cents a gallon. Second, it would hike the vehicle license fee, which is based on value, by more than 50 percent over 5 years. Third, it would increase the cost to register a vehicle by over 80 percent.

Although the backers of the SB 16 tax increase say it is vital to make up the claimed $59 billion backlog in roadway maintenance, some of the funds are slated to go to repaying transportation bonds that, when passed, were to be paid from the general fund. This means that not all of the new revenue will go to the stated intent of fixing roads and highways.

Whatever the actual dollar amount of the backlog in roadway maintenance, this shortfall is the result of previous diversions of gas tax and truck weight revenue to budget items that have no direct impact on road improvement, and Beall’s bill would allow this practice to continue.

...Gas prices in California are already tops in the nation. If taxes are increased again, every motorist should be given a railroad engineer’s cap compliments of Sacramento lawmakers and the governor because the extra they pay will free up money, which could have been used for roads, to be spent on their pet train. KEEP READING

Billionaire TomSteyer pushes new oil tax in California

Billionaire environmentalist @TomSteyer pushes new oil tax in California http://t.co/gky8kOYFje via @alexanderJander pic.twitter.com/6lGL9fx08I

— Rob Bluey (@RobertBluey) May 28, 2015

The State Senate's top Democrat now wants to impose a new $1.8 billion "fee" on drivers. She says they need more money for roads, but how is it that California has the highest gas tax in the nation and can't keep roads in decent condition?

◼ Knee Jerk Tax Hikes - Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

For the second time in as many weeks Californians got the news that Sacramento politicians are proposing yet another big tax hike. The truth is that new taxes would never be required were it not for Sacramento’s mismanagement of existing tax dollars.

Last week, it was the proposal to deal with the very real problem of “revenue volatility” in California’s tax structure with the very unreal “solution” of a $10 billion tax on services.

But the latest proposal comes from new Senate leader Toni Atkins who proposes a brand new tax on drivers to pay for highway and road repairs in California. This new “fee” would take $1.8 billion dollars out of the pockets of hard working California citizens over the next five years.

Now, most Californians would wholeheartedly agree that our roads are in terrible shape. Years of neglect have resulted in a highway system that, according to a recent state report, requires a massive infusion of $59 billion. But taxpayers have a very good question that has yet to be answered: How is it that California has the highest gas tax in the nation and yet cannot keep its roads in decent condition? KEEP READING

FACT: The Obama administration has suppressed energy production on federal lands, while Republicans have consistently pressed for a true all-of-the-above energy policy to help create jobs and address costs for working families.

◼ Speaker Boehner's Press Office: CLAIM: “Today, America is number one in oil and gas. ... And thanks to lower gas prices and higher fuel standards, the typical family this year should save $750 at the pump.” (President Obama, State of the Union Address, January 20, 2015)

FACT: The Obama administration has suppressed energy production on federal lands, while Republicans have consistently pressed for a true all-of-the-above energy policy to help create jobs and address costs for working families.

• Republicans have consistently supported increasing American energy production as a way to lower gas prices, while President Obama is on record supporting increasing gas prices in order to reduce Americans’ dependence on oil. And when the foundations for today’s lower prices were being laid a few years ago by the private sector in states like North Dakota and Texas, President Obama was insisting that increased production would never result in lower prices.
• President Obama’s pick for Energy Secretary, Steven Chu, said, “Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.” At the time, that meant $7-9 per gallon.
• From 2009 to 2013, oil production on non-federal lands increased 61 percent while falling six percent on federal lands. Similarly, natural gas production has seen a 33 percent increase on non-federal lands, but a 28 percent drop on federal lands, according to the non-partisan Congressional Research Service.
• According to the Institute for Energy Research, “In 2013, even though the federal government is the largest landowner in the country, federal lands produced 25 percent of the fossil fuels produced in America, down from 36 percent a decade ago.”
• Factcheck.org challenged a similar claim made by the president in last year’s State of the Union Address, determining that “the remarkable boom in U.S. oil production is chiefly the result of new drilling technology…and not of any government policy.”
• President Obama’s five-year leasing plan bans energy development on 85 percent of America’s offshore areas and provides for the fewest number of new lease sales ever offered in a plan since the process began in 1980, says the House Natural Resources Committee. The committee also notes that “onshore, the Obama Administration has had the four lowest years of federal acres leased for energy production – going back to 1988.”
• Speaker Boehner’s five-point vision for resetting America’s economic foundation calls for a true-all-of-the-above energy policy, as Republicans have advocated for for years. As Boehner notes, America’s energy boom is “driving real growth” in areas that have embraced increased oil and gas production, like Youngstown, Ohio, resulting in lower unemployment rates and higher wages for middle-class workers.

◼ While the United States is the world's biggest producer of oil and gas, the American people have accomplished this feat despite Obama's policies, not because of them. - Conn Carroll/Washington Examiner

Only because Republicans stayed unified, and rejected Obama's cap and trade carbon tax, was the shale oil and natural gas boom able to produce the astounding results we are all enjoying today.

◼ President Obama was not shy about taking credit for low gasoline prices, touting the booming oil and natural gas production that has occurred under his administration. - Daily Caller

Since 2009, domestic oil production has gone from only 5 million barrels a day to more than 9 million barrels per day thanks to fracking and horizontal drilling. The U.S. is now set to overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest oil producer — the country has already beaten out Russia as the world’s top natural gas producer.

But virtually all of the increased oil and natural gas production has come from private and state lands, where Obama has no jurisdiction over approving drilling permits. Meanwhile, oil production on federal lands has floundered under Obama. From 2009 to 2013 oil production on federal lands fell by 11 percent and natural gas production fell by 28 percent.

Republicans weren't elected to raise the gas tax

◼ Our one-word response to Republicans looking to raise the gas tax: NO - Washington Examiner EDITORIAL

Politicians and pundits have spent a great deal of time trying to find the precise meaning of the results of the 2014 election. No one disputes that it was a great day for Republicans, but there are still many valid and varying interpretations.

But whether the election was a true mandate for the GOP or simply a repudiation of President Obama, voters most certainly did not hand Republicans the U.S. Senate and elect them to a historic House majority so that they could raise federal gasoline taxes.

This should really go without saying...

It’s Never a Good Time for a Carbon Tax

◼ Larry Summers, former treasury secretary and economic advisor to the Obama administration, says low oil prices offer a ripe opportunity to impose a carbon tax. Writing in the Washington Post, Summers argues that conservatives “who believe in the power of markets should favor carbon taxes on market principles.” - Daily Signal

We have no idea, of course, how long oil prices will remain low. But it doesn’t matter. Cheap oil is no excuse for bad policy. A carbon tax is not a market-based policy and will be a huge economic loser without making a dent in global warming....

Although Summers has argued for a carbon tax when oil prices were high, part of Summers’ argument in his most recent op-ed is that Americans can now afford a carbon tax. He writes:

“Those who drive long distances to work, say, or who have homes that are expensive to heat would be disproportionately burdened. Now that these consumers have received a windfall from the fall in energy prices, it would be possible to impose substantial carbon taxes without them being burdened relative to where things stood six months ago.”

Summers significantly downplays the damage a carbon tax would impose. Levying a price on carbon dioxide will directly raise the cost of electricity, gasoline, diesel fuel and home heating oil. An overwhelming majority of America’s energy needs are met by carbon-emitting conventional fuels. And since low-income families spend a larger proportion of their income on energy, a tax that increases energy prices would disproportionately affect the budgets of the poorest American families.

The direct hit is just a small part of the story. Energy is a necessary component for just about all of the goods and services consumed, so Americans will pay more for food, healthcare, education, clothes, cleaning supplies – you name it. A carbon tax would act as a vise – squeezing both the production and consumption ends of the economy....

$2 gas, anyone?

$2 gas, anyone? pic.twitter.com/JM2ibeP4mE

— Michele Bachmann (@MicheleBachmann) January 2, 2015

Michele Bachmann, once mocked for $2 gas claim, points out something [photo] http://t.co/FQmQX2FQQX

— TwitchyTeam (@TwitchyTeam) January 2, 2015

Remember When MSM Mocked Michele Bachmann's $2 Gas Pledge? http://t.co/cyiuuTh0E0

— Fox Nation (@foxnation) December 14, 2014

California’s Christmas gift — new tax on gasoline

◼ This time of year most people are buying presents and celebrating with their families, but bureaucrats at the California Air Resources Board (CARB) are preparing a new gas tax that could raise prices up to 76 cents a gallon on January 1st. - Lodi News Sentinel

Our California legislature has a holiday greeting for you. Beginning in January, you will be paying a minimum of $1 to $2 more per tank full of gas.
Apparently having the second-highest gasoline tax in the nation is not good enough for the majority of folks we put into political office. And it may not stop there. Some experts say these new fees could eventually tack on as much as an additional 76 cents per gallon!
Of course, it’s all going for a good cause. It will be used to fix California’s decaying infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, right? Dream on.

Bank of America sees $50 oil as Opec dies

◼ "Our biggest worry is the end of the liquidity cycle. The Fed is done. The reach for yield that we have seen since 2009 is going into reverse”, said Bank of America. - The Telegraph

The Opec oil cartel no longer exists in any meaningful sense and crude prices will slump to $50 a barrel over coming months as market forces shake out the weakest producers, Bank of America has warned.

Revolutionary changes sweeping the world’s energy industry will drive down the price of liquefied natural gas (LNG), creating a “multi-year” glut and a mucher cheaper source of gas for Europe.

Francisco Blanch, the bank’s commodity chief, said Opec is “effectively dissolved” after it failed to stabilize prices at its last meeting. “The consequences are profound and long-lasting,“ he said.

The free market will now set the global cost of oil, leading to a new era of wild price swings and disorderly trading that benefits only the Mid-East petro-states with deepest pockets such as Saudi Arabia. If so, the weaker peripheral members such as Venizuela and Nigeria are being thrown to the wolves.

Unless the California Air Resources Board takes action soon, motorists could be hit with a 76 cent per gallon gas tax increase in January.

◼ ENVIRONMENT: Gas prices fueling debate - The Press Enterprise via Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
◼ LIKE Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association on FACEBOOK

Come Jan. 1, fuel producers will have to buy credits to cover auto emissions. Industry representatives said the consumers will bear the cost of those credits.

California drivers can expect to pay 16 to 76 cents per gallon more once the cap-and-trade changes are in effect, according to Fed Up at The Pump, a coalition of fuel producers and business groups that calls the upcoming cap-and-trade change a hidden tax.

“Now is not the time for California’s environmental bureaucrats to play social engineers and price out consumers who need to fill up their gas tanks to make a living,” read an issue summary on the Fed Up coalition’s website.

California drivers brace for costly new gas tax

◼ Californians already pay the nation's second highest gas tax at 68 cents a gallon -- and now it will go up again in January to pay for a first-in-the-nation climate change law. - FOX

..."I think it’s terrible," added Lupe Sanchez, pumping $4.09-a-gallon gas at a Chevron near Santa Monica. "The economy, the way it is right now with jobs and everything, it's just crazy."

When gas prices go up, motorists typically blame oil companies, Arab sheiks and Wall Street speculators. This time they can blame Sacramento and former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for passing a bill requiring California to reduce carbon emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

The tax on carbon already raised about $1 billion in revenue by requiring manufacturers and utilities to buy credits for each ton of carbon emitted into the atmosphere. At the beginning of next year, the law will also apply to oil and gas. Refiners and distributors say they will pass another $2 billion in costs on - largely to consumers....

Putin has spy plot to halt fracking in UK, warns Nato chief: 'Agents are working with green campaigners to make sure Europe still has to rely on Russian energy'

◼ Putin's government 'engaged actively' with green groups and protesters; Nato Secretary-General said plan was part of disinformation campaign - Daily Mail UK

Russian agents are secretly working with environmental campaigners to halt fracking operations in the UK and the rest of Europe, the head of Nato warned yesterday.

Vladimir Putin’s government has ‘engaged actively’ with green groups and protesters in a sophisticated operation aimed at maintaining Europe’s reliance on energy exports from Moscow, said Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

He said the Russians had mounted a highly developed disinformation campaign to undermine attempts to exploit alternative energy sources such as shale gas.

Moves to start fracking in the UK have been disrupted following a sustained campaign by environmentalists that has created fears about its impact.

Speaking at the Chatham House foreign affairs think-tank in London, Mr Rasmussen said: ‘I have met allies who can report that Russia, as part of their sophisticated information and disinformation operations, engaged actively with so-called non-governmental organisations – environmental organisations working against shale gas – to maintain European dependence on imported Russian gas.’