Senator Strickland proposes temporary suspension of some fuel taxes and LCFS components for one year

Senator Strickland presented SB 1035 as a short‑term measure to give Californians relief at the pump, temporarily suspending the state sales tax on gasoline, select elements of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard and cap‑and‑invest compliance mechanisms for one year. He said the bill requires any savings be passed through to consumers at the pump and that the General Fund would temporarily backfill transportation revenues.

Strickland and an expert witness argued refinery closures and global market disruptions have reduced domestic supply and increased prices, making California particularly vulnerable. "This bill provides immediate cost relief to Californians by temporarily suspending 3 major contributors to gas prices, for 1 year," Strickland said.

Opponents — including clean‑fuel groups, labor and environmental organizations — cautioned that suspending the LCFS or cap‑and‑invest components would undermine investor confidence in clean fuels, slow deployment of renewable natural gas and other low‑carbon alternatives, and threaten long‑term climate goals. Witnesses from the Renewable Natural Gas Coalition and State Building Construction Trades Council recommended against programmatic changes, saying the LCFS has been cost‑effective and important to long‑term transition efforts.

Committee members debated the trade‑offs between immediate affordability relief and the potential long‑term costs to climate programs and infrastructure funding. The committee recorded a mixed roll call on a motion to pass the bill to Revenue and Taxation and granted reconsideration.