Thread: California would increase fuel taxes under $52 billion road repair plan

California would increase fuel taxes under $52 billion road repair plan



By Sharon Bernstein
Reuters March 29, 2017
3 Comments


FILE PHOTO: Gasoline drips off a nozzle during refueling at a gas station in Altadena, California March 24, 2012. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni More

By Sharon Bernstein

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Reuters) - California would increase gasoline taxes and other transportation-related fees for the first time in decades to fund an ambitious $52 billion plan to repair the state's sagging infrastructure under a deal announced Wednesday.

The deal between fiscally moderate Democratic Governor Jerry Brown and leaders of the majority Democrat legislature would increase the excise tax on gasoline by 12 cents per gallon from the current $0.28, and on diesel fuel by 20 cents per gallon, among other fees, over 10 years to pay for repairs to roads and bridges as well as for anti-congestion projects.

"Let's be clear - our roads suck," said Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, who represents blue-collar suburbs south of Los Angeles at a news conference announcing the deal. "Our bridges are crumbling and traffic takes time away from our families. Delays cost businesses money."

California's transportation systems have languished unrepaired and unexpanded for decades, as budget constraints and politics have stymied plans by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Brown, a fiscal moderate credited with bringing the state back from a $27 billion budget gap, has refused to sign on to plans that involve borrowing money, and Republicans and some moderate Democrats have resisted raising gasoline taxes.

But the same Democratic wave that led California to go two-for-one in favor of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton last November gave the party a two-thirds majority in both houses of the legislature, enough to pass new taxes without Republican support.

The deal won support of construction companies and labor unions, and Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday put up a unified front on what had been a divisive issue over raising taxes.

Under it, owners of electric vehicles would have to pay a $100 fee to help repair roads even though they don't use gasoline and would not pay the gas tax.

The fees and taxes would raise about $5.2 billion per year.

Republicans condemned the plan, saying transportation taxes and fees were already among the highest in the country.

"The transportation proposal announced by the Capitol Democrats is a costly and burdensome plan that forces ordinary Californians to bail out Sacramento for years of neglecting our roads," Republican leaders said in a joint statement.

Their opposition means that if even a few moderate Democrats defect, the package could fail. Brown urged support.

"This is like fixing the roof on your house," the governor said. "If you don't fix the house, your furniture will be ruined. The rug will be destroyed. The wood will rot."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/californi...-business.html

52 billion? How about stop footing the bill of $25 billion per year to illegal aliens!

I hope people revolt, car pool, take the bus and NOT be held hostage to paying MORE taxes to the State of California!

Wake up California! Go on a boycott buying anything but the essentials for as long as you can. This summer, plan your vacation wisely...vacation OUT of California.

Other states have their hands out to get infrastructure funding from the federal taxpayers.

CA. is willing to pay for their own infrastructure improvements

and pay federal taxes to help pay for the federal infrastructure work too.

APRIL 3, 2017 6:00 AM

Lobbying ramps up on tax increase, road repair package


Capitol Alert



Commute traffic east bound on Highway 50 near the 59th Street exit on Wednesday, September 23, 2015. Statistics indicate higher numbers of traffic fatalities are tied to more cars on the road. Jose Luis Villegas jvillegas@sacbee.com

BY TARYN LUNA
tluna@sacbee.com

With the deadline to pass a $5.2 billion a year road-spending package looming, interests are ramping up lobbying campaigns to propel or doom California’s largest potential transportation funding overhaul in a quarter century.

Proponents last week launched statewide television and radio ads in English and Spanish to urge legislators to pass the package. The groups also paid for special targeted ads calling out a mix of eight moderate Democrats and potentially vulnerable legislators in swing districts by name.

Funded by coalitions of supporters – building trades unions and contractors, among others – the ads specifically urge voters to tell Sens. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, and Anthony Cannella, R-Modesto, and Assemblymembers Catherine Baker, R-Dublin; Adam Gray, D-Merced; Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield; Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside; Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton; and Al Muratsuchi, D-Manhattan Beach, to support the deal.

“Tell your state legislators, ‘fix our roads,”’ a man narrating the ads says. “The longer they delay, the more we’ll pay.”

Meanwhile, Assembly Republicans posted a video on social media that blames Democrats for the state’s road problems. The ad says that over the years Democrats have raised vehicle and gas taxes to fix roads, but then used the money for other programs.

“The result? Extra hours on crumbling roads that cost motorists thousands in repairs,” the ads says. Now Democrats are attempting to raise taxes again to fix the issues they’ve ignored, the ad asserts.

Despite Democratic super majorities in both houses of the Legislature, political leaders face major hurdles to pass the package with a two-thirds vote.

The governor and Democratic legislative leaders set a Thursday deadline to approve the legislation, setting the stage for a highly concentrated lobbying effort this week.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-...142083319.html

California Legislature votes to raise gas taxes for road repairs and transit