California’s High Gas Prices Are a Choice – Not a Necessity

Originally published by RedState

AAA reports that California drivers are paying an average of $4.66 a gallon this week— more than $1.50 above the national average. The main reason? State policy. California’s gasoline excise tax alone accounts for much of that difference, making fuel far more expensive west of the Colorado River.

As of July 1, 2025, Sacramento levies 61.2 cents per gallon in state excise tax—an automatic, inflation-indexed charge that rose again this summer and will continue to climb every July unless lawmakers intervene. Put simply, before a gas station earns a single cent, the state takes more than sixty.

This is not normal.

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