Prepare to pay more at the pump
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The state's tax on gasoline and diesel fuel is going up on Wednesday to raise money for road repair. Drivers will pay an extra 12 cents per gallon for fuel and 20 cents per gallon for diesel.
The impact is pretty widespread the tax will hit farmers, their workers, and the daily driver. Not a lot people are excited about it but a few see the upside.
The search for gas prices under three dollars a gallon brings a lot of drivers to this Arco station in West Central Fresno.
Jesse Limon drives a small car. It uses less fuel and he is not too concerned about the changes coming, November first with the gas tax increase.
"If it's to build the roads, to have better roads then yeah, it's a good idea," said Limon.
The state hopes an extra 12 cents a gallon for gas and 20 cents a gallon for diesel will pull in 52 billion dollars over the next decade for those road repairs and public transit.
Some people are skeptical about the plan.
The ag industry is concerned about the cost of diesel and there is a campaign to repeal the tax.
Ryan Jacobsen with the Fresno County Farm Bureau says higher fuel prices will make the state less competitive with food prices. He says it will take more money to grow crops, more money to send them to the market and field workers will have to pay more money to drive to work.
"This is a cost that agriculture can not pass on -- it's something that they obviously have to absorb in their operations but it's a cost that other parts of the world, other parts of our nation don't have to deal with," Jacobsen.
Back at the Arco Limon says his solution is a compact car but it might not help him escape the increase in vehicle registration fees. Depending on the value of the car they will go up anywhere from 25 to 175 dollars.
As far as gas prices go we will not see much of a change, at first, the tax will cancel out, saving we usually get from the less expensive winter blend of fuel.
Next year, in the spring, is when we should see a significant jump.
