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California has the highest state-level sales tax rate at 7.5 percent. Five states tie for the second-highest statewide rate at 7 percent: Indiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Tennessee.

A report released Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration details a “perfect storm” that shows the West Coast’s gasoline inventory fell by more than a million barrels last week while fuel imports into the region dropped to zero for the first time since March.

This week’s map shows the real value of $100 in each state. Prices for the same goods are often much cheaper in states like Missouri or Ohio than they are in states like New York or California. As a result, the same amount of cash can buy you comparatively more in a low-price state than in a high-price state.

The unexpected magnitude of the costs, coupled with the uncertainty about future economic impacts, demand greater evaluation of the costs that will be associated with any new climate change proposals (SB 350, SB 32, and the California Air Resources Board Scoping Plan). This is hardly a revolutionary approach – in fact, cost analysis is an approach the state should prioritize for all new policies – but proponents of new climate change proposals seem surprisingly blasé about their need.

The new proposal calls for a return to two tiers, plus a surcharge for the highest electricity users. The rate structure would impact 75 percent of California’s residential customers, or more than 10 million electricity accounts held through Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric Co.

New numbers from the Legislative Analyst’s Office, reflecting the latest data from the Franchise Tax Board, show that the state took in $541 million more in income tax and corporate tax revenue than reflected in the budget approved two weeks ago.

Assessors from California’s 58 counties began reporting their assessment rolls – showing the value of all real property and business personal property in their counties as of the January 1, 2015, lien date – and selected counties that have released their rolls so far have reported major growth.

California’s county tax assessors are reporting sharp increases in valuations that will generate billions of new dollars for local governments and schools, according to the California Taxpayers Association.

California regulators are considering a new way for residents to pay for electricity, imposing a charge on the greatest energy users while narrowing price gaps for everyone else.

Real personal income across all regions rose by an average of 0.8 percent in 2013. This growth rate reflects the year-over-year change in nominal personal income across all regions adjusted by the change in the national personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index. On a nominal basis, personal income across all regions grew an average of 2.0 percent in 2013. In 2013, the U.S. PCE price index grew 1.2 percent.

Data released by the state on Tuesday show that California’s emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases started falling again in 2013. The drop wasn’t much, just 0.3 percent. The state’s economy still pumped almost 460 million metric tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, according to the California Air Resources Board.

The purpose of the new rules was briefly outlined last week by the accounting board chairman, David Vaudt . . . “Previously, what happened under current standards is that the pension and OPEB liabilities appeared in the footnotes of the financial statement, and regretfully that didn’t get the attention of the policymakers, the mayors and councils, the governors and the legislators,” Vaudt said.

The purpose of the new rules was briefly outlined last week by the accounting board chairman, David Vaudt . . . “Previously, what happened under current standards is that the pension and OPEB liabilities appeared in the footnotes of the financial statement, and regretfully that didn’t get the attention of the policymakers, the mayors and councils, the governors and the legislators,” Vaudt said.

While also dominated by the Democratic Party, which traditionally aligns with organized labor, the Legislature’s lower house has a growing “moderate caucus” that is generally more receptive to the concerns of the business community. Those members helped kill or stall a number of union priorities before June’s deadline to pass bills out of their house of origin, including legislation to require two weeks’ notice for workers’ schedules.

People who work for cities, counties, school districts and other public agencies in the four-county Sacramento region face an average HMO premium increase next year of 12.2 percent. Amounts vary by health plan from a low of 5.17 percent for Kaiser Permanente to 18.76 percent for the Blue Shield NetValue plan. Anthem Blue Cross charges more here than in any other region, including the Bay Area.