SACRAMENTO—The effort to temporarily halt California’s 51-cent gas tax failed for a third time in a state assembly committee as lawmakers instead proposed changing the bill by adding a new tax on fuel suppliers to feed a rebate program for gas consumers. Assembly Bill 1638 by Assemblyman Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin) was accepted to be heard on a last-minute basis by the state Transportation Committee on March 28, after being shut down by lawmakers on March 14 and March 24. Assemblyman Alex Lee (D-San Jose) opposed Kiley’s bill while blaming the high gas tax on fossil fuel corporations—such as Chevron and Vallero—which he said pocketed billions in a record profit last year. “I definitely sympathize and I understand how hard it is right now, and how hard it is at the pump,” he said. It’s not because we are paying for roads. It’s because there are corporations out there who are …