California Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed Jan. 10 to suspend the state’s annual gasoline and diesel tax increase for at least a year in an effort, he said, to help motorists already paying the highest gas prices in the country. The proposal would mean that the state would skip its July 1 tax hike on gas, which has occurred every year since the passage of Senate Bill 1 in 2017—a tax on gas to raise $5.4 billion annually to repair the state’s highways, bridges, and more. Newsom’s proposal was part of the release of the state’s over $200 billion budget, which will kick in July 1 for the fiscal year 2022–2023. “We’re also going to advance a modest—I don’t want to overstate this—but it’s a $523 million gas tax holiday of sorts,” Newsom said during a press conference. Reducing the tax increase would mean $523 million in savings for motorists in …