Mother Lode Assemblyman David Tangipa Seeks Cost Analysis Of Five Bills

Published Aug 24, 2026 4:16 pm

Assemblyman David Tangipa at press conference

Sacramento, CA—Republican Assemblyman David Tangipa, who represents the Mother Lode, joined fellow Assembly Republicans Monday for a press conference calling for independent analysis of the potential costs five bills could impose on Californians.

The lawmakers are asking the Legislative Analyst’s Office to conduct what they described as citizen cost impact reports on the bills, arguing that Californians should know how much new legislation and regulations could cost them before those measures take effect. The request comes with one week remaining in the legislative session. During the press conference focused on affordability, Tangipa said Californians are already dealing with the costs of gasoline, utilities and insurance and questioned whether the state’s policies are making those expenses more difficult to manage.

The Republicans argued that existing legislative fiscal analyses primarily examine costs to state government and do not necessarily provide an independent accounting of costs that could ultimately be borne by consumers, drivers, renters and small businesses. The five bills identified during the news conference cover a range of issues. AB 1448 concerns oil and gas development, AB 1776 would expand the scope of the state’s antitrust law, AB 2646 concerns minimum wages for certain agricultural workers, SB 295 concerns algorithmic collusion, and SB 1259 concerns refinery decommissioning and remediation cost estimates.

Tangipa said lawmakers have an obligation to make those potential costs clear to the public.

“If we are in the richest state in the richest country in the history of the world, why is it so hard to live here?” Tangipa said.

The lawmakers said they remain willing to work with Democrats on affordability measures but argued that legislation should be evaluated not only for its cost to the government but also for its potential effect on California households and businesses.