Daily Business Report: Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Leader Jones Demands Audit of Newsom’s Gas Price Hike
By Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones
This morning, Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) announced he requested an independent audit of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for its secretive overhaul of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS)—a regulation expected to raise gasoline prices by up to 65 cents per gallon when it takes effect on July 1. Click here to read the audit request.
At the same time, Leader Jones launched a statewide Change.org petition urging Governor Gavin Newsom to repeal the costly regulation and provide immediate relief at the pump.
“Californians are demanding answers and action before yet another hidden tax hits the pump,” said Leader Jones. “After nearly a month of stonewalling from the Newsom Administration, this audit is the only way to expose what they’re hiding. Meanwhile, thousands of Californians have already signed my petition to repeal the regulation entirely.”
California Lawmakers Propose ‘No Secret Police Act’ to Ban Officers From Wearing Masks
By Jill McLaughlin | The Epoch Times
Two California state lawmakers announced a new law on June 16 that would prohibit law enforcement officers from wearing masks in public, following riots sparked by immigration actions in Los Angeles.
The proposed “No Secret Police Act” was planned in response to an increase in federal immigration deportation operations in California’s larger cities, including Los Angeles, according to Democratic state Sens. Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Jesse Arreguín of Berkeley.
“This is a very important and timely proposal to deal with the fact that we’re seeing more and more law enforcement officers—particularly at the federal level—in our community covering their faces entirely, not identifying themselves at all, at times even wearing Army fatigues,” Wiener said during a news conference on June 16. “You can’t tell if these are law enforcement officers or a vigilante militia.
California Retail Theft Rose 11 Percent from 2014 to 2023: Report
By Jill McLaughlin | The Epoch Times
California’s soft-on-crime approach, along with pandemic-era actions, may have contributed to a rise in retail theft from 2014 to 2023, according to a report published by the state Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) on June 12.
In the report, “Retail Theft in California: Looking Back at a Decade of Change,” the LAO found that retail theft in the state rose after a slight decline during the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in an overall increase of 11 percent during the nine-year timeframe.
Despite the statewide increase, however, the numbers reported are still below the historical highs seen in the 1980s, the report found.
