The California Senate Energy Committee will vote next week on a bill that would suspend the state's gas tax. The bill was introduced by Republican State Senator Tony Strickland of Huntington Beach. California has the highest gas prices in the nation with the average at five-34 a gallon. California also has the highest gasoline tax burden in the nation, at about 71 cents per gallon. USC Professor Michael Mische will be in Sacramento next Wednesday to testify in support of Strickland's bill. He has projected the average gas price in California rising to eight dollars per gallon by the end of this year.