California senator urges commission to resign after tire rule

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(The Center Square) – Just days after the California Energy Commission approved a new mandate requiring replacement tires on cars to meet minimum efficiency standards, a state senator called on the commission’s five members to resign.

The mandate, which the commission approved on Monday, was heralded as the country’s first efficiency standards for replacement tires on cars and light-duty trucks. Tires that come with new cars are often designed to give the car better fuel mileage, according to the commission’s announcement. But as cars age and drivers buy replacement tires, they often buy tires that are less fuel-efficient, commissioners said.

Commissioners said the new regulations would require replacement tires to be as fuel efficient as new tires.

Representatives from the California Energy Commission did not respond to The Center Square before publication time on Friday.

Sen. Tony Strickland, R-Huntington Beach, sent the commission a letter on Thursday claiming that the new tire mandate made the cost of living even higher in California.

"I am calling on the five members of the California Energy Commission to resign," Strickland wrote.

The senator discussed the mandate further during an interview.

“If they had to face the voters this November, they would all be removed from office,” Strickland told The Center Square on Friday. “Them putting down this mandate at this time shows you that they’re tone-deaf to the challenges facing California families.”

Strickland’s letter claimed that the increasing cost of living in the Golden State is one of the biggest issues facing the state’s residents. He noted the new mandate will make expenses climb even higher for families.

“We have, now, the highest gas prices in the nation, and we doubled the gas tax since 2017,” Strickland said. “People are living paycheck to paycheck and they can’t afford to live here in California.”

Gas on Friday averaged $5.59 a gallon in the Golden State, according to AAA. By contrast, the national average was $4.11.

The California Energy Commission contends energy-efficient tires will save on gas cuts by reducing fuel consumption. According to the commission's numbers, a typical driver with a gas-powered car will save $179 in gasoline costs over the life of the replacement tires, assuming that gas is roughly $4.60 a gallon.

Drivers would save roughly $1 billion in savings a year in gas and electricity costs with the new mandate, which would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 2 million metric tons a year, the commission said.

Manufacturers will have until 2033 to make tires that meet the new requirements, and some already do make tires that meet the new state mandate. Thirty percent of manufacturers already comply with the new standards, said Harrison Reilly, the commission's chief communications officer, during an interview with The Center Square.

Many national tire manufacturers and stores did not return calls and emails Friday to The Center Square before publication time, or had employees in the store who could not answer questions.

Trade industry associations, like the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association, also did not respond to The Center Square. And Democratic lawmakers were not available for comment.