California is quickly becoming a place where only the wealthy can afford to live. And in Southern California, we feel it every single day. Between sky-high housing costs, rising gas prices, and grocery bills that keep climbing, families are getting squeezed from every direction.
As your state senator, I’ve had a front-row seat to the legislative process for the past six months — and I can tell you this: despite the endless talk about affordability, Sacramento’s ruling class continues to act like they’ve got all the time in the world while working families are running out of it.
Friday marked the deadline for Senate bills to move to the Assembly—and with it, another wasted opportunity. The majority party rolled out what they’re calling an “affordability package,” but it’s little more than a PR stunt: just three bills, none of which actually lower the cost of housing, groceries, gas, or electricity. That’s not a package. That’s a press release.
Meanwhile, more than a dozen Republican bills that offered real relief—bills to cut gas taxes, ease housing costs, and provide tax relief for working families and small businesses—were quietly rejected. Not because they wouldn’t work, but because they came from the wrong side of the aisle.
Let’s be clear: Californians are pleading for help. Poll after poll shows affordability is their top concern. But Sacramento’s majority party seems more interested in maintaining control than fixing problems.
And the budget tells the same story. After burning through a $100 billion surplus just three years ago, we’re now facing another deficit — $14 billion this time — and that’s after draining $7 billion from the rainy day fund. And the same leaders who mismanaged those funds are now floating tax hikes to fill the hole they dug. It’s like they lit your house on fire and now they are handing you the water bill.
I introduced four affordability-focused bills this session — each one offering targeted, real-world relief:
Senate Bill 2 (which I co-authored) would have halted a 65-cent gas tax hike set to hit this summer.
Another bill would’ve exempted tips from state income tax, helping workers who earn every dollar the hard way.
I also proposed tax relief for veterans, seniors, and teachers—people who serve, build, and educate our communities.
All of them were blocked. All of them had the potential to make a difference.
At the same time, the state continues to burden Californians with new regulations, delayed housing, and costly climate mandates—without ever asking the question: What will this cost the people we’re supposed to serve?
Too often, feel-good slogans about equity and justice are thrown around in Sacramento while the actual cost of living keeps rising. And those who suffer most? Essential workers who can’t live near their jobs, young families priced out of their hometowns, and seniors trying to retire with dignity.
Here’s the truth: real affordability reform means tough choices, not easy soundbites. It means:
Cutting red tape and accelerating housing construction;
Suspending gas tax hikes when prices are already too high;
Making consumer costs a key part of every major policy conversation;
Reforming the tax code to reward — not punish — work, service, and savings.
These aren’t partisan ideas. The price of gas, groceries, and rent doesn’t change based on your party registration. These are basic priorities that every Californian should expect their government to care about.
I’ve stayed laser-focused on three things since being sworn in: making life more affordable, improving public safety, and creating opportunity for all Californians. I’m not backing down from that — not ever.
Yes, I’m frustrated. But I’m not giving up. In fact, I’m more energized than ever, because I know the tide is turning. Voters are fed up with excuses, and they’re demanding action. The louder those voices get, the more Sacramento will have to listen.
California has every resource to be the most affordable and opportunity-rich state in the nation. But it requires courage, not complacency. It requires leadership — not just legislation.
If we want California to live up to its promise, then our leaders must start acting like it — and put working families first.
Suzette Martinez Valladares represents most of the Santa Clarita Valley in the state Senate.“Right, Here Right Now” appears Saturdays and rotates among local Republicans.
