(The Center Square) – Republican members of the state Assembly talked Wednesday about a package of legislation that aims to provide some relief to Californians who struggle with the increasingly high cost of living.
During a press conference, lawmakers said public policy has driven up the price tag of living in the Golden State. They noted the bills they’re introducing this year to combat the issue include legislation about housing, taxes on tips and energy costs, among other policy goals.
“We have to create a state that generations coming after us want to live in, that they can afford to stay in,” Assembly Minority Leader Heath Flora, R-Ripon, told reporters. “If you can’t afford to live in the state of California, then what are we doing?”
Some of those bills, including Assembly Bill 1550, aim to eliminate paying income taxes on tips and overtime pay. Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, R-Rancho Santa Margarita, the bill’s author, said many workers in California who earn tips as part of their wages are losing much of their tip earnings to taxes.
“Sacramento is still taking more of their hard-earned money,” Sanchez said during the press conference. “That is the problem. For millions of Californians, tips and overtime aren’t a bonus. That’s how they pay rent, that’s how they afford groceries, and that’s how they keep the lights on.”
The bill aims to allow workers who earn tips and overtime to keep more if they work more, she said.
“This is real relief, right now,” Sanchez said. “Families are cutting back, and the government should, too.”
Other bills pushed by the Assembly Republican Caucus to lower the cost of living aim to provide buyers of infant car seats with a partial sales tax exemption, create a personal income tax credit for first-time home buyers, cut electricity rates by targeting waste and utility spending, and expand nuclear energy to lower costs and increase reliability.
According to a 2025 report from United Ways of California, 35% of California’s households – roughly 3.8 million families – don’t earn enough money to pay for the basic cost of living.
Recent numbers from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office also shows that California’s home prices exceed those in the rest of the country, pricing at $755,000 for a mid-tier home. A lower-tier home, the office added, is 30% more expensive in California than a mid-tier home in the rest of the United States.
Lawmakers also said during Wednesday’s press conference that California’s farming industry, one of the state’s biggest industries, is facing profit margins that are less now than they were during the Great Depression.
“If you ask me, the fourth largest economy in the world, the richest state in the richest country in the history of the world, should not have these problems,” Assemblyman David Tangipa, R-Fresno, said at the press conference. “California is unaffordable and too expensive because of California policies.”
