Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and state lawmakers have introduced legislation that would raise $52.4 billion in investment funding for transportation infrastructure over the next 10 years through a series of gas and diesel tax hikes.
California has become the latest state to consider raising taxes on gas and diesel fuel in order to fund investments in ailing transportation infrastructure, according to a statement from Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.
Brown and state lawmakers introduced legislation last week that would raise $52.4 billion in transportation infrastructure investment funding over the next 10 years through a series of gas and diesel tax hikes they say would cost most drivers less than $10 per month.
Gains in fuel economy and increased numbers of hybrid and electric cars, as well as falling oil prices, have put a significant dent in collected gas tax revenues on both a state and federal level, even as the total number of cars on the road has increased.
Under the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, the state would invest the more than $5 billion raised each year equally between state and local infrastructure.
Local agencies would receive roughly $15 billion for so-called “Fix-It-First” road repairs, including fixing potholes; $7.5 billion to improve local public transportation; $2 billion to support local “self-help” communities making their own investments in transportation improvements; $1 billion to improve infrastructure that promotes walking and bicycling; $825 million for the State Transportation Improvement Program local contribution; and $250 million in local transportation planning grants.
Investments on the state level would include $15 billion in “Fix-it-First” highway repairs; $4 billion in bridge and culvert repairs; $3 billion to improve trade corridors; $2.5 billion to reduce congestion on major commute corridors; and $1.4 billion in other transportation investments, including $275 million for highway and inter-city transit improvements.
The bill would raise $7.3 billion over the course of the next decade by increasing diesel excise tax by $0.20, $3.5 billion by increasing diesel sales tax to 5.75 percent, $24.4 billion by increasing the gasoline excise tax by $0.12, $16.3 billion from an annual transportation improvement fee based on a vehicle’s value, $200 million from an annual $100 Zero Emission Vehicle fee commencing in 2020, and $706 million in General Fund loan repayments.
In announcing the “landmark” legislation, Gov. Brown, along with state Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, noted that California has not increased the gas tax in 23 years. Since then, the state’s population has grown by eight million, adding millions of cars and trucks to its roads, but road and transit investments have been unable to keep up.
In addition, Brown said the bill includes “strict new accountability provisions to ensure funds can only be spent on transportation.” These include a constitutional amendment to prohibit spending the funds on anything but transportation, authorizing the state Inspector General to ensure Caltrans and any entities receiving funds spend taxpayer dollars efficiently, effectively and in compliance with state and federal requirements, a provision that empowers the California Transportation Commission to hold state and local government accountable for making the transportation improvements to which they commit, authorization for the California Transportation Commission to review and allocate Caltrans funding and staffing for highway maintenance, and authorization for Caltrans to complete earlier mitigation of environmental impacts from construction.
“California has a massive backlog of broken infrastructure that has been neglected far too long,” said Brown. “Fixing the roads will not get cheaper by waiting – or ignoring the problem. This is a smart plan that will improve the quality of life in California.”
“We can’t afford to keep kicking the can down the road. Californians are tired of the constant traffic jams and crumbling roads, and they expect us to find solutions,” added de León. “These critical investments will keep our state moving and economy growing. I look forward to getting this deal through the Legislature and onto the Governor’s desk next week.”
“We have a solution before us and we have a choice before us,” Rendon said of the bill. “We can choose to do nothing, and see more deterioration, more time lost in traffic, and more damage to cars, or we can choose to advance this compromise solution that fixes California’s broken transportation system in a way where drivers will actually end up paying less for a better quality of life.”
According to a report from Bloomberg last month, at least 15 states are considering raising gas taxes in order to fund transportation infrastructure investments, and another 19 states and the District of Columbia have increased tax rates since 2013.
California considers raising gas tax to fund infrastructure investment
