SACRAMENTO, Calif. — More than a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged to give Californians money to offset rising gas prices, he and state lawmakers have yet to find common ground on the most basic details of the plan: Who should be eligible for refunds and how much should they receive?
The governor and legislators also disagree on big-picture questions of how much of California's record tax revenues should be sent back to residents and where refunds should fall in the hierarchy of other needs in the state.
"It's definitely not a lack of attention and work," said Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, about the slow-going negotiations. "It is more really trying to land on the spot that we feel is appropriate. On our side, there's just not a lot of interest in providing checks to the wealthiest of Californians."
