SACRAMENTO – Yesterday, Governor Newsom delivered the State of the State.

As Californians, we don’t have to look far to find evidence contrary to the governor’s romanticized outlook: gas prices are well over the national average; the average price of buying a home in California is higher than $800,000; And communities across the state have faced crime waves so significant, businesses have had to shutter their doors.

Let’s talk about what that means for families in the first Assembly District.

Living in beautiful, rural Northern California comes with challenges most Sacramento legislators don’t understand. Local farmers facing massive cuts to their water supply means lower income, fewer jobs for people in the community, and higher prices at the supermarket. A “quick trip” to the grocery store for food, or to the pharmacy for medication means a two hour drive each way for some constituents. Parents whose children are involved in sports spend hours in the car to make it to and from games. And with gas prices nearing $6 per gallon, families will be forced to choose between driving two hours to the nearest Costco to buy groceries or rooting their kids on at a sporting event.

The policies created by our state leadership directly impact California families by lowering income and increasing the cost of living. Assembly Republicans are fighting to get rid of the bloated gas tax which adds over $1 to each gallon of gas, but our Democratic colleagues are pushing back. The governor’s solution to record high gas prices involves a one-time rebate program for California drivers that likely would not take effect until July. This leaves struggling Californians to fend for themselves as gas prices reach new highs every day.

Their policies don’t make sense for rural Northern Californians, and they aren’t working for the average Californian. My colleagues and I are working to repeal Prop 47 to make our streets safer and repeal the gas tax increase to lower fuel costs.

Assemblywoman Megan Dahle represents the 1st Assembly District in the California Legislature, which includes portions of Butte and Placer counties, along with Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, and Siskiyou counties.

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