(The Center Square) – Average California gas prices remain near $5 per gallon despite national gas prices plummeting amid falling oil prices, leading many Californians to wonder why their gasoline is the most expensive in the United States.
While Gov. Gavin Newsom says price gouging from fuel producers is to blame — which his own energy czar says is not the case — California leaders say much of the difference comes down to fees paid by California drivers to pay for everything from bike lanes to the state’s long-ongoing bullet train.
“Despite Gavin Newsom’s tin foil hat conspiracy theories about ‘gas price gouging,’ the only one ripping off Californians at the pump is him,” said Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher, R-East Nicolaus, to The Center Square. “From raiding gas tax money for bike lanes to bankrolling his failed bullet train with cap-and-trade revenue, Newsom has jumped at every opportunity to line his friends’ pockets at the expense of California drivers.”…