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California gas tax rises 12 cents to pay for road repairs

Posted at 3:42 PM, Nov 01, 2017
and last updated 2017-11-01 20:26:15-04

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - California gas prices have gone up again.

Gasoline taxes rose by 12 cents per gallon Wednesday to raise money for fixing roads and highways. It's the first of several tax and fee hikes that will take effect after lawmakers approved them this year.

The move brings the state's tax on gasoline up from 29.7 cents per gallon to 41.7 cents per gallon. 

RELATED: State may hike gas tax even more in 2018

AAA spokeswoman Marie Montgomery says the price increase will be mitigated because it coincides with the annual shift to a winter blend of gasoline, which generally reduces prices by about 6 cents per gallon.

Diesel taxes will go up by 20 cents a gallon, and diesel sales taxes will rise by 4 points to 13 percent.

RELATED: Poll: Most Californians oppose Gov. Brown's gas tax plan

The tax increase has been highly politicized, with two Republican candidates for governor backing efforts to repeal it in next year's election.

Wednesday throughout San Diego County, the average price of gasoline rose 1.6 cents to $3.066 a gallon. The average price is 3 cents more than a week ago.

RELATED: San Diego neighborhood wants to pay more taxes to fix roads