California has not enacted a mileage tax — yet. But Assembly Bill 1421 advances planning for a road usage charge widely presented as a replacement for the gas tax. Without a binding repeal, it risks becoming an additional tax. At 6–9 cents per mile, drivers could pay $900–$1,350 per vehicle yearly, or up to $2,700 for two-car households — a major burden on working commuter communities like Compton.

California’s High-Risk audit findings expose a deep governance failure: billions are spent through systems the State cannot or won't fully measure, audit, or enforce. Improper payments, eligibility errors, weak IT controls, delayed financial reporting, rising energy costs, untracked homelessness spending, stalled infrastructure, and undocumented immigration costs all point to the same problem. For communities like Compton, this translates into higher living costs, and less se