Marie Waldron, State Assemblymember — Last week, the state budget was finalized, including proposed spending of a record $307 billion. Despite a record-high surplus of $97 billion, unfortunately the deal doesn’t mean permanent tax relief anytime soon. 

The state now plans to spend $17 billion to send rebates of up to $1050 per family, which isn’t even enough to keep up with one year of the price increases on everything from gas to groceries. Moreover, the governor’s office says these rebate payments won’t be available until October 2022 through early 2023. You could be waiting until next year to get your payment!

In the meantime, while the legislature saw fit to suspend the excise tax on diesel fuel, they declined yet again to suspend the state’s highest-in-the-nation gas tax. Despite the record surplus, they raised gas taxes by $500 million instead of following the lead of most states and affording drivers immediate relief every time they fill up.

The legislature could have cut taxes across the board to actually provide real relief for taxpayers and improve the economic climate in our state. A bold tax reform would encourage more businesses to relocate, hire, and expand here in California. Instead, the legislature intends to spend the bulk of the surplus on their chosen priorities, including $53.9 billion to combat climate change and $4.2 billion on a bullet train project that continues to hemorrhage money, while shortchanging higher priorities like preventing wildfires and increasing our state’s capacity for water storage essential for agriculture.

This direction is unsustainable and it’s a bad deal for California businesses and taxpayers. California deserves better and I will continue to be a voice for hard working California families.

Sincerely,  Marie Waldron – Assemblymember, 75th District

Assemblymember Marie Waldron, R-Valley Center, represents the 75^th  Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes the communities of Bonsall, Escondido, Fallbrook, Hidden Meadows, Pala, Palomar Mountain, Pauma Valley, Rainbow, San Marcos, Temecula, Valley Center and Vista