FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 18, 2026
CONTACT: Jason Scalese

Majority’s Inaction on Affordability Has Left Rural California Families Behind

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – State Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) today expressed disappointment with the majority party’s failure to deliver meaningful affordability relief to rural California during the 2025-2026 legislative session.

 

“Despite controlling both chambers and the governor’s office, the majority party allowed critical affordability measures to stall in committee or die without a vote,” said Senator Alvarado-Gil. “While they offered symbolic gestures, real solutions for gas prices, rents, energy costs, and healthcare were sidelined.”

 

Here are key examples the majority party chose not to advance:

 

• SB 1035 (Gas Tax Relief Act) and AB 1745 (One-Year Gas Tax Suspension), bills Senator Alvarado-Gil coauthored with Senator Strickland and Assemblymember Gonzalez, which would have delivered up to $1.08 per gallon in relief at the pump.
• SB 1084 (Fire Safe Home Tax Credits Act) and SB 1118, authored by Senator Alvarado-Gil, which would have provided tax credits for home hardening and backup power to help rural families.
• Meaningful expansion of the renter’s tax credit, one of her top budget priorities, to help working families and seniors struggling with skyrocketing housing costs.
• Full funding and restoration of the Distressed Hospital Loan Program (AB 1923), despite her strong advocacy.
• SB 984 (No Tax on Tips), which she proudly coauthored, to let rural service workers keep more of their earnings.
• A broader cost-of-living tax credit (SB 1277).

 

No action was taken to prevent oil refinery closures or restore fuel independence despite repeated calls by the Republican caucus for special sessions to deal with this crisis. With facilities like Phillips 66 and Valero shutting down, rural Californians are facing even higher fuel and goods prices.

 

Instead, the majority party continued advancing AB 1421, a step toward a new mileage tax that would further burden rural drivers, while taking no action to stop refinery closures and restore fuel independence.

 

“Of the hundreds of majority party-authored bills this session, only a tiny fraction addressed affordability, and none delivered direct relief,” said Senator Alvarado-Gil. “Rural California cannot afford more empty rhetoric. Families in Jackson, Sonora, Modesto, and across the Sierras and Central Valley are still struggling with the highest cost of living in America.”

 

“I will continue fighting every day for the families I represent,” she concluded, “because Sacramento’s failure to act is not just disappointing, it is unacceptable.”