Democrats Pass the Gas Mileage Tax
Democrats Pass the Gas Mileage Tax - Because Apparently, Gas Taxes Weren't High Enough!
Guess what California State Assembly Democrats have been up to this week? If you guessed “figuring out yet another way to squeeze more money out of hard-working Californians,” you’d be right. The latest example is AB 1421, a bill that moves California one step closer to a statewide mileage tax. Every Democrat in the Assembly voted for it, including my opponent Gail Pellerin, while Republican Assemblymembers unanimously opposed it. This is what happens when one party has a super majority.
California already has the highest gas prices in the country, some of the highest vehicle fees, and a housing market that forces families to live farther from work every year so now they’ve come up with a new way to charge you just for driving. Why let a good opportunity to take more of our money go to waste, right?
AB 1421, authored by Assemblymembers Lori Wilson (D-11) and Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-4), directs state agencies to advance implementation of a mileage-based tax and return to the Legislature with recommendations on how much to charge and how the tax would be collected. While the bill does not impose a mileage tax today, it explicitly moves the state beyond exploration and toward execution.
Mileage Tax Increases the Cost of Living
A Vehicle Mileage Tax charges people based on distance driven, and in California, distance is not evenly distributed.
The burden rises fastest on people who were priced out of closer housing and must drive farther every day. That is the defining feature of the state’s housing market. Families do not choose long commutes because they prefer them. They accept them because housing policies have pushed affordable housing farther from job centers.
Gas taxes at least correlate loosely with fuel consumption and vehicle choice. A mileage tax correlates with geography. It imposes higher costs on people who live farther out, often because they have no other option. That is a direct increase in the cost of living layered on top of already high housing, fuel, and vehicle expenses.
At the end of the day, this is exactly why who you vote for matters. Policies like AB 1421 don’t appear out of thin air. They’re written, pushed, and passed by the people we send to Sacramento.
Californians deserve leaders with common sense, leaders who focus on helping families instead of inventing new ways to squeeze more money out of taxpayers. In 2026, voters have a real chance to change direction by choosing representatives who put people first, not politicians’ revenue schemes.
Carol Pefley
Candidate for Ca State Assembly
