Jerry Brown’s 12-Cent Gas Tax Passes Legislature on Deadline

Both houses of the California legislature passed a 12-cent gasoline tax hike on Thursday, meeting Governor Jerry Brown’s deadline to provide an estimated $52 billion in new revenues, ostensibly for transportation infrastructure. The bill, which also raises Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) fees, barely reached the two-thirds majority needed to raise taxes in both the State Assembly and the State Senate. Passage marks a huge political victory for Gov. Brown, who is in his fourth and final term as governor. The political consequences for legislators, however, have yet to be seen, as voters have not yet felt the pinch of a tax hike that, critics say, will hit rural and working-class Californians hardest. -- More...