West OC Times

California's Republican representatives in the U.S. House are urging the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to postpone a November 8 vote on new policies that may lead to higher gasoline prices. Representative Michelle Steel from Seal Beach led this initiative among the 12 California Republicans.

The group has accused CARB of "a failure to provide complete transparency" regarding consumer costs associated with proposed environmental policies. In their letter, they requested a delay for CARB to "focus on analyzing and communicating its policies’ impact on consumers in our state."

CARB spokesman David Clegern stated there is no response to the letter, emphasizing that the vote is set for November 8 due to state-required timelines for rulemaking procedures.

An economic impact report by CARB last year suggested potential increases in gasoline prices by up to 47 cents per gallon due to stricter carbon reduction measures. However, CARB later retracted this projection, acknowledging it was legally required but not grounded in reality. The agency admitted that efforts to promote electric vehicles might increase gas prices but could not specify by how much.

Rep. Steel's call comes as she faces a challenging reelection campaign against Democrat Derek Tran.

Transparency issues have crossed party lines during recent legislative sessions, resulting in a bill mandating refineries maintain sufficient gasoline reserves. State Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh also released a statement criticizing the lack of responses from CARB concerning questions about the impending vote's impact on fuel prices.

Assemblymember Joe Patterson expressed frustration over unanswered requests for information sent to CARB Chair Liane Randolph since May 14. Assemblymember Mike Gipson supported Patterson's concerns, stating it was unacceptable for any legislator not to receive timely responses regardless of party affiliation.

Randolph responded with answers five days after these complaints were raised.