Pennsylvania has the highest rate of 51.60 cents per gallon (cpg), and is followed closely by New York (45.99 cpg), Hawaii (45.10 cpg), and California (42.35 cpg). On the other end of the spectrum, Alaska has the lowest rate at 12.25 cpg, but New Jersey (14.50 cpg) and South Carolina (16.75 cpg) aren’t far behind. These rates do not include the additional 18.40 cent federal excise tax.
The Los Angeles City Council is expected to vote on the rate hike by December. If approved, power rates would rise an average of 3 percent annually starting in 2016, and water rates would rise over the same period by 3.8 percent.
Some Senate Republicans are open to raising costs on motorists, said Senate Republican leader Bob Huff. But Democrats must first agree to bureaucratic changes that will increase efficiency and redirect existing road funds back into transportation, he said.
California refineries reaped an average of 49.3 cents on a gallon of gasoline from 1999 to 2014, according to the California Energy Commission. But this year, the average ballooned to 88.8 cents, triggered when refinery troubles in February disabled 7% of the state’s capacity at a time of low inventories.
The refinery that has historically produced about a fifth of Southern California’s gasoline has been crippled since a February explosion — and may stay that way for months to come.
Home sales are up. All-cash and investor purchases are down. And home prices are rising at a more sustainable pace than in the last few years.
Fueled by an increase in home sales, the assessed value of all taxable property in Los Angeles County rose 6.13 percent in 2015 — the largest jump since 2010 — the county assessor reported Thursday.
The chairman of the state agency that finances affordable housing has announced he will soon leave amid criticism that his development company plans to eliminate several rent-controlled units to make way for million dollar homes.
Thanks to a rebound in the economy and real estate values, county assessment rolls — and by extension property tax revenues — are going up between 5.2 and 8.7 percent in eight Bay Area counties this fiscal year.
Nearly a third of California’s households “struggle each month to meet basic needs,” largely because of the state’s high cost of living, a new study by United Ways of California concludes.
The latest increases have boosted prices to $5 a gallon or more at some stations. And it begs the question — how much more can consumers take?
The Department of Finance reports California exceeded revenue projections for the fiscal year by $732 million. Revenues were originally projected to be about $114 billion.
Brown, who called special sessions of the Legislature last month to focus attention on the issues, wants at least $1.3 billion annually to help fund Medi-Cal and home-care services. The administration estimates the annual funding shortfall for road repairs is even higher, at about $5.7 billion.
A new study finds Sacramento area home prices have gotten out-of-reach for people who earn the median income or less. The data from research firm RealtyTrac show it’s cheaper to rent in Sacramento County than to buy.
A study released Wednesday by real-estate tracker Trulia says it would take 18 years for a San Diego household of college-educated young professionals earning the median income to afford a median-priced home in the county.