Two statewide changes could cause gas prices to rise across California starting July 1, but it’s not clear exactly how high those prices may rise, sparking a heated political debate.

First, the state’s excise tax rate will increase from 59.6 cents to 61.2 cents per gallon.

The uncertainty lies more, though, with the state's environmental regulation program called the Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

In November, the California Air Resources Board voted to strengthen the program, which functions as a sort of cap-and-trade program, incentivizing oil and gas companies to cut emissions and requiring those that don’t to buy credits from the ones that do.

“That's going to increase their costs, which will again get passed on to the consumers, and all of us will be paying more for gasoline,” said Sta

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