Once again, Senate Democrats have turned their backs on struggling rural families by rejecting yet another attempt to suspend the state gas tax, leaving Californians to suffer under the highest fuel prices in the nation.
Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) has been a tireless warrior for relief, fighting repeatedly to suspend California’s punishing gas tax. She coauthored SB 1035 (Gas Tax Relief Act) and AB 1745 (One-Year Gas Tax Suspension) with Senator Tony Strickland and Assemblymember Jeff Gonzalez. She stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her Republican colleagues to bring Strickland’s bill to the Senate floor for debate and a vote, and has aggressively championed every effort to deliver immediate, meaningful relief at the pump for the families she represents.
Democrats have now killed these attempts multiple times in 2026, choosing instead to protect Sacramento’s broken status quo over the desperate needs of rural California.
“Enough is enough,” declared Senator Alvarado-Gil. “Rural families are being economically strangled by Sacramento Democrats who refuse to provide even basic relief. Parents are forced to cancel family outings, mothers and fathers are choosing between filling their tank to get to work and putting food on the table. Seniors are skipping critical doctor appointments. This is not living, this is surviving under the weight of Sacramento’s arrogance and indifference.”
While Democrats have taken zero action to stop the devastating closure of major oil refineries like Phillips 66 and Valero, which is making fuel and goods even more expensive for rural Californians, the Governor’s only response has been pathetic political stunts, telling families not to shop at Chevron instead of fixing the crisis his own policies created.
California drivers are slammed with nearly $2.00 per gallon in taxes and fees, including a gas tax exceeding 60 cents per gallon. Suspending this tax for just one year would slash prices up to $1.08 per gallon and return approximately $1,100 to the average family of four. Yet Democrats continue to block this common-sense relief while rural roads crumble, refineries shut down, and prices spiral higher.
In Senate District 4 and across the Sierra Nevada, Central Valley, and foothill communities, the crisis is brutal. Low-income and Hispanic families, many relying on long commutes for agriculture and essential jobs, are watching the gas tax devour 9% or more of their hard-earned income. They are bypassing healthcare, slashing grocery budgets, abandoning weekend traditions, and sacrificing family memories simply to keep their vehicles on the road.
“Gas tax dollars have repeatedly failed to repair our pothole-riddled rural highways, yet the majority party demands more and more from our families while giving nothing back,” Senator Alvarado-Gil said. “This regressive tax is crushing the very people who keep California running. Your money belongs in your pocket, for groceries, school supplies, medicine, and family, not wasted in a failed Sacramento system.”
With California’s average gas price at $6.07 per gallon, compared to the national average of just $4.43, the pain is undeniable. While the Governor deflects and points fingers, Senator Alvarado-Gil refuses to back down.
“The families of Jackson, Sonora, Bishop, Modesto, and every rural corner of our district are done with excuses,” she concluded. “I will keep fighting for relief at the pump, and every possible solution until this burdensome tax is suspended and real relief reaches the people who need it most. Rural California will no longer be ignored.”
California families are hurting. They deserve real relief, and they deserve it now.