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VOL. 12,
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US reps say regulators should delay vote on price-rising fuel rules
Newsom proposes major boost in film tax credit
By Joe Taglieri
By City News Service
joet@beaconmedianews.com
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| Photos by donut3771 and Mike Shots/Envato Elements
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ouse Republicans called for California air-quality regulators to postpone an upcoming vote on more stringent emissions standards that could significantly increase fuel prices, U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel announced Friday. Steel, whose district is in northeastern Orange County, and Rep. Rand David Valadao, R-Visalia, co-wrote a letter signed by all House Republicans from California asking the Air Resources Board to delay a vote set for Nov. 8 on changes to the state's Low Carbon Fuel Standard. "Once the proposed amendments are implemented in 2024, they are projected to potentially increase the price of gasoline by an average of $0.37 per gallon, potentially increase the price of diesel by an average of $0.47 per gallon, and fossil jet fuel $0.35 per
gallon based on the average change in estimated annual LCFS credit price and annual deficits ... through 2030," according to a California Air Resources Board analysis released in September 2023. The same analysis, which the reps' letter references, also provided a table showing 2025 pump prices could rise by $0.47 per gallon for gasoline, $0.59 for diesel and $0.44 for jet fuel. The congressional members' letter to the board also included an estimate from the state's Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee that the "current policy trajectory could singlehandedly raise gas prices by 85 cents by 2030." The lawmakers urged board members to immediately assess costs to consumers before making policy changes that will raise gas prices, adding that high gas prices "disproportionately
affect working class Californians, who’ve already weathered significant cost of living increases in recent years." Co-signers of the letter were Reps. Ken Calvert, John Duarte, Vince Fong, Mike Garcia, Darrell Issa, Kevin Kiley, Young Kim, Doug LaMalfa, Tom McClintock and Jay Obernolte. “Governor Newsom’s bureaucracy in Sacramento continues to make life unaffordable for Californians without considering input from affected citizens. State agencies should not be enacting new regulations raising our cost of living by dramatically increasing already-high gas prices,” Steel said in a statement. “CARB must delay their November 8 vote and study the impact their regulations will have on all Californians.” The letter, which is See Emissions Page 32
addressed to CARB Board Chairman Liane Randolph, noted that "(the board's) new and opaque approach comes as Californians continue to weather gas prices $1.50 above national averages, as well as a July hike in the gas excise tax to 59.6 cents per gallon. Allowing these amendments to move forward will result in an added economic burden on Californians when they are already struggling with elevated energy, food, and housing costs.” CARB spokesman Dave Clegern said the board's scheduled vote on the Low Carbon Fuel Standard "is part of a statutory timeline to complete the regulation by the end of this year. "And just to be clear, CARB does not predict or set fuel prices," Clegern said in a statement Monday to the
ov. Gavin Newsom was on location Sunday in Hollywood, where he unveiled a proposal to more than double the tax credit the state offers to producers of films and TV shows that shoot in California. Appearing with industry union leaders, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and state Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-Glendale, Newsom announced a plan to boost the annual tax credit from its current $330 million to $750 million, which would represent the largest amount offered by any state except Georgia, which has no cap on its credits. The plan, which still needs approval by the state Legislature, could take effect as early as July 2025. The Los Angeles area, long considered the center of film and TV production in the United States, has struggled to retain its hold in recent years, losing business to Canada and other states that offer more attractive incentives, most prominently New York and Georgia. "We wanted to reconcile the stress that's been building up here for, frankly, the better part of a decade," Newsom said, referring to the competition from other places, the coronavirus pandemic and the crippling writers and actors strikes of 2023. "I don't know how they can continue to afford that program (in New York), and we'll see" how it goes in See Film Page 32
Georgia, he added. In a statement released earlier Sunday, Newsom called California "the entertainment capital of the world, rooted in decades of creativity, innovation, and unparalleled talent. Expanding this program will help keep production here at home, generate thousands of good-paying jobs, and strengthen the vital link between our communities and the state's iconic film and TV industry." Bass, who worked on California's original film tax credit policy in 2009 when she was speaker of the state Assembly, said, "We have to do everything we can to strengthen and protect one of the foundational blocks of our economy in Los Angeles." Bass also noted that losing production not only harms the local entertainment industry, but can jeopardize jobs in other support industries such as restaurants, construction businesses and flower shops. The mayor closed her remarks Sunday with a lighthearted dig at the Big Apple. "Just like we're going to do in the World Series, we have to make sure that we stay ahead of New York," she said. In its most recent report released on Oct. 16, FilmLA noted that overall shooting in the Los Angeles area decreased by 5% in the third quarter of 2024, represent-