California’s gas tax just went up. So has the bickering

As tensions mount between the petroleum industry in California and state policymakers, the cost of a gallon of gasoline just got a smidgen more expensive this week.

Monday marked the start of the new fiscal year and California’s state excise tax on gasoline increased 1.7 cents per gallon. That’s part of the annual adjustment for inflation that is part of Senate Bill 1, which the Legislature in Sacramento passed and then-Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in 2017.

The excise tax rose...