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Californians agree that AB 251 is “basically a family tax” |
SACRAMENTO – Today, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) sent a letter to Governor Newsom urging him to veto Assembly Bill 251 (Ward, D-San Diego), a measure that aims to increase fees for SUV and mini-van drivers. Click here to read the letter.
“AB 251 is another scheme to squeeze money out of California families,” said Leader Jones. “The goal of AB 251 is to increase fees for drivers with SUVs and minivans, which are a necessity for many families with children. This is essentially a tax on California families.”
Specifically, AB 251 creates a “task force” to study imposing a passenger vehicle weight fee, which would add additional fees for vehicles with heavier weight such as SUVs and mini-vans. Suspiciously, the measure authorizes a special consideration to electric vehicles, which are on average about 33% heavier than traditional gas vehicles and disproportionately owned by wealthier Californians.
Leader Jones warned Californians about Democrat lawmakers’ intent with AB 251 in an Instagram Reel video that has garnered over 250,000 views. One comment on the video argues the measure is “basically a family tax…I don’t know how you have kids without a larger vehicle.” The comment received over 300 likes.
“The California Legislature should be focusing on ways to reduce costs for California drivers,” continued Jones. “Instead of targeting families and small businesses who need larger vehicles, we should reduce costs for motorists by passing my SB 32 to suspend the state’s $1 gas taxes and fees.”
Leader Jones’s Senate Bill 32 would immediately reduce costs for California drivers by cutting the price of gas by $1 a gallon. Democrat lawmakers rejected the bill on a party-line vote in committee, but granted it reconsideration for next year.
