California Considers Gas Tax on Imports from Other States

Commerce Clause, anybody?

Not satisfied with a $60 billion new energy tax, disguised as a cap-and-trade auction and pegged to increase gasoline prices by 70 cents a gallon. Not satisfied with an untested "low-carbon" fuels regulation that will likely reduce refinery capacity in California (and we just saw how well that works out for California).

Now, the Air Resources Board is considering a new regulation creating a "border adjustment fee" on California fuels. This is an explicit acknowledgment that their regulatory actions will substantially increase the price of fuels, creating "leakage" of both jobs and GHG emissions to other states. So the Board's natural response is – no, not reducing the cost impact of their regulations – but attempting to increase the cost of competing fuel imports.