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From Cradle to Grave: Rep Adam Gray Voted for Over $14 Billion in Higher Taxes and Fees
By Megan Barth
California Globe
May 31, 2026
As Californians struggle with sky-high housing costs, gas prices, and everyday expenses, Democrat Assemblyman-turned-Congressman Adam Gray (CA-13) has demonstrated a consistent commitment to raising taxes and fees on his constituents–from cradle to grave, and apparently even beyond.
Gray voted to impose an $8.50 regulatory fee on “each reduction” of a human body through “natural organic reduction,” commonly known as human composting. The process places deceased individuals in reduction chambers where bodies are broken down into soil through aerobic decomposition with periodic mixing.
On May 27, 2021, Gray cast an Aye vote on AB 501, which established the regulatory framework for human composting in California. The bill created standards for “reduction chambers,” required periodic mixing to ensure full decomposition, and authorized the removal of non-organic materials like surgical implants. The resulting soil could then be used in conservation areas or other permitted locations. A nearly identical measure ultimately became law with Gray’s support in 2022.
Supporters promoted the measure as an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional burial or cremation amid concerns over climate change and sea-level rise, claiming each person choosing human composting would save the equivalent of one metric ton of carbon emissions. The legislation specifically authorized a regulatory charge “not to exceed $8.50” for each reduction performed by a licensed facility.
This fee on the dead is just one example in a much larger pattern. During his time in the California State Assembly, Adam Gray voted for more than $14 billion in higher taxes and fees across multiple legislative sessions, according to reports from the California Tax Foundation.
Read the full article here.
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