Gas prices in California will increase thanks to a clean air tax. The California Air Resources Board is mandating that 50 cents per gallon be added to the price of gasoline in an effort to move California away from petroleum-powered engines by 2035. That’s the year when sales of new, gas-powered vehicles will be banned in the state. Republican opponents of the idea say this is a secret tax because the legislature is not passing it, and it will price the middle class out of driving a car. Proponents of the plan say it will speed California toward its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 85-percent by 2045.