California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a gas price relief plan Wednesday that would “put money back into the pockets of Californians,” however some Santa Clarita politicians argue that a tax rebate is not time-sensitive enough. 

The long-awaited tax rebate details were released just two weeks after Newsom’s State of the State address when he first introduced the gas rebate idea, intending to provide billions in relief to Californians who are suffering from rising gas prices across the country. 

While further details remained slim during the address, Newsom’s official plan is expected to utilize tax refunding to send $400 to Californians per each registered vehicle –  a move putting money back into the pockets of car owners, even the state’s highest-income residents. 

“We’re taking immediate action to get money directly into the pockets of Californians who are facing higher gas prices as a direct result of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine,” Newsom said in a statement on Wednesday. “But this package is also focused on protecting people from volatile gas prices, and advancing clean transportation – providing three months of free public transportation, fast-tracking electric vehicle incentives and charging stations, and new funding for local biking and walking projects.”

While the allocated rebate per vehicle exceeds the average $300 in gas taxes California car owners spend per year, some Santa Clarita politicians have raised concerns that the supposed “immediate action” is not moving quickly enough.

“Senate Republicans called for relief for California drivers, and we got it,” said Senator Scott Wilk, who represents the Santa Clarita Valley. “But they also need relief now, not in July. Newsom should take this further and immediately suspend the full state gas tax.”

See Related: Some Santa Clarita Gas Prices Surpass $6 Per Gallon 

The idea to suspend state gas taxes to offset record-high prices at the pump have been circulating between lawmakers across the nation and has already taken effect in several states. 

Last week, Maryland and Georgia passed bills that paused their state gas taxes of between 29 cents and 36 cents per gallon, while California continues taxing gasoline at 51.1 cents per gallon, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators.

Soon after, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Connecticut lawmakers have all called to cut gas taxes in their respective states in response to the financial crisis. 

Newsom’s $11 billion proposal, coming less than a year after the state sent out millions of $600 stimulus checks from a budget surplus, is among the most aggressive proposals across the country. 

“The bulk of this (issue) is the result of inflationary pressures being put on by a federal government that is just spending too much money,” said Congressman Mike Garcia in an interview with KHTS last week. “Also, note that California voted to keep the gas tax in place, which is roughly 50 cents a gallon gas tax that they could’ve hit pause on to give us a little bit of a reprieve in California.”

For another time on Thursday, Sacramento Democrats denied an Assembly Republican proposal to suspend the state gas tax, which remains the highest in the nation. 

“As Californians are calling for immediate relief at the gas pump, Democrats in Sacramento again continue to ignore the demand for urgent action,” said Vince Fong, Vice-Chair of the Assembly Budget Committee (R-Kern County). “The fastest way to provide relief at the gas pump, is to temporarily suspend the gas tax with our state budget surplus.”

To learn more about the denied suspension on the state gas tax, click here. 

For more details on the tax rebate, click here.

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