Suspending the state fuel tax would have been the responsible and right thing to lower the rising cost of gas, according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).
Instead, state authorities said they would use general funds to soften the impact of inflation on gasoline prices through a rebate program.
“Suspending the gas tax for a designated term as we try to see ourselves through this terrible war and the unforeseen impacts of the lingering effects of COVID would have been the responsible and right thing to do,” said John Kabateck, NFIB state director for California. “We still believe that would've made the most sense.”
Last week, Gov. Newsom announced the proposed rebate program, which would be available to drivers with cars registered in the state, according to media reports.
“We appreciate the concept but they were very scant on details,” Kabateck said. “Business leaders, economists, and even those working in the administration are unclear on how that will play out. I don’t think the state has fully fleshed it out yet.”
NFIB proposed the following methods to curb rising gas prices while lowering business costs.
Waiving overtime requirements to allow four, 10-hour days so employees would need to commute less. “The more flexibility that the employer and employee have, the more they will find increased morale in the workplace and better work product,” Kabateck told the Southern California Record. “Environmentally, this ultimately speaks to giving people the ability to stay home, not drive, not spend more money on gas and keep our communities cleaner.”
Reimbursing employers for the cost of providing state-mandated COVID leave. “Our state leaders, who now have the luxury of figuring out how to spend a multibillion-dollar budget surplus, ought to be looking at ways to offset state-mandated costs,” Kabateck said. “We don't agree with the concept of one more leave program. Our state already has upwards of 15 to 17 state and federal leave programs made available to workers. But if this is important enough to leaders in the capital, they ought to ensure that the state, not business owners, pick up the tab.”
Full reduction of the state’s outstanding unemployment insurance loan debt. “Unemployment is yet another gigantic credit card debt that state leaders have run and are looking to small business owners to pick up the tab,” Kabateck added. “Our state budget is deep in the black with a surplus. It's time that our leaders make a serious commitment with those dollars.”