California bans most replacement tires — so much for ‘affordability’!

California just adopted new regulations for replacement tires that will further squeeze family budgets and make our roads more dangerous.

The worst part: The decision was made by five unelected bureaucrats.

The California Energy Commission, composed of five members appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, has now approved new tire efficiency regulations that could ban 70% of the tires currently used on the road.

Most of the affordable tire models that hardworking Californians use to get to work, take their kids to school, or go to the grocery store, will simply disappear.

Goodyear tires are seen on a display rack at Lincoln Discount Tire. Jonathan Alcorn for CA Post

Consumers will be left with fewer, and more expensive, choices.

California is already one of the most expensive places in America to live. Families are paying more for gas, electricity, groceries, insurance and housing.

Apparently, five gubernatorial appointees can now decide that we are just not paying enough, and must pay hundreds or even thousands more for tires.

Not to worry — they promise that drivers will eventually earn some of this money back from mileage efficiency gains, since tires with lower “rolling resistance” save fuel in the long run.

Californians have heard that argument before.

Sacramento passes another mandate, families pay more up front, and government officials promise that someday the regulation will save everyone money.

In reality, the savings never come.

For a working family that suddenly needs four new tires, the cost is immediate. They cannot pay the bill with projections about what they might save years from now.

The safety consequences are also immediate.

When replacement tires become more expensive, families will put off buying them, keep worn tires on the road longer or even replace them with used tires.

A mechanic works at Lincoln Discount Tire in Venice. Jonathan Alcorn for CA Post

Worn tires mean less traction, longer stopping distances and more blown tires, directly leading to more road accidents.

A regulation intended to make driving more efficient should not make it harder for families to replace their tires when they need to do so.

There is nothing wrong with encouraging more efficient tires. If manufacturers can produce tires that save fuel while maintaining safety, durability and performance, that is a good thing. Consumers should have those options.

And if tires with lower “rolling resistance” really do save drivers more on gas in the long run, then we shouldn’t need to force people to buy them.

But there is a difference between giving consumers better choices and having the government make life more expensive and more dangerous for our families.

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Those concerns deserve more than a shrug from the governor.

Gavin Newsom promised us that he would work on the out-of-control cost of living in the state of California. Instead, when families raise concerns about the cost of another mandate, Sacramento tells them the long-term benefits will outweigh the expense.

Families have to balance their budgets today. They do not have the luxury of ignoring higher costs because a government report says they may save money somewhere down the road.

This tire mandate is also part of a much bigger problem in Sacramento.

For years, the state government has piled mandate upon mandate onto California families and businesses. Each regulation may sound small when considered by itself. Add them together and the result is the California we live in today: higher costs, fewer choices and families wondering whether they can afford to stay in the state.

That needs to change.

My priority in the Legislature has been straightforward: make California more affordable, protect taxpayers and bring some common sense back to state government.

We should be lowering costs for drivers, not finding new ways to make driving more expensive.

California families do not need Sacramento telling them which tires they can buy.

They need Sacramento to get out of the way and make California affordable for families.

Tri Ta is a Republican member of the California Assembly for the 70th district.