(a) (1) A tax of sixteen cents ($0.16) is hereby imposed upon each gallon of diesel fuel subject to the tax in Sections 60051, 60052, and 60058.
(2) If the federal fuel tax is reduced below the rate of fifteen cents ($0.15) per gallon and federal financial allocations to this state for highway and exclusive public mass transit guideway purposes are reduced or eliminated correspondingly, the tax rate imposed by paragraph (1) shall be increased by an amount so that the combined state rate under paragraph (1) and the federal tax rate per gallon equal what it would have been in the absence of the federal reduction.
(3) If any person or entity is exempt or partially exempt from the federal fuel tax at the time of a reduction, the person or entity shall continue to be exempt under this section.
(b) On and after November 1, 2017, in addition to the tax imposed pursuant to subdivision (a), an additional tax of twenty cents ($0.20) is hereby imposed upon each gallon of diesel fuel subject to the tax in Sections 60051, 60052, and 60058.
(c) On July 1, 2020, and every July 1 thereafter, the State Board of Equalization shall adjust the taxes imposed by subdivisions (a) and (b), with the adjustment to apply to both the base tax rates specified in those provisions and to any previous adjustment in rates made pursuant to this subdivision, by increasing the taxes by a percentage amount equal to the increase in the California Consumer Price Index, as calculated by the Department of Finance with the resulting taxes rounded to the nearest one-tenth of one cent ($0.01). The first adjustment pursuant to this subdivision shall be a percentage amount equal to the increase in the California Consumer Price Index from November 1, 2017, to November 1, 2019. Subsequent annual adjustments shall cover subsequent 12-month periods. The incremental change shall be added to the associated rate for that year.
(d) Changes to the taxes imposed under this section that are enacted by legislation subsequent to July 1, 2017, shall be deemed to be changes to the base tax rates for purposes of the California Consumer Price Index calculation and adjustment performed pursuant to subdivision (c).
(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 92, Sec. 203. (SB 1289) Effective January 1, 2019.)