SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr., Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon today joined a bipartisan group of labor, business, transportation and local leaders from across the state to call on the Legislature to pass SB 1 – the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 – co-authored by Senator Jim Beall (D-San Jose) and Assemblymember Jim L. Frazier Jr. (D-Discovery Bay).
“Fixing our roads is basic,” said Governor Brown at the rally on the East Steps of the State Capitol. “If you don’t do it now it gets more expensive next year and the year after. California is united and we are united together to build a great state, and you build a great state by investing in our roads.”
The legislation, announced last week, is backed by a broad coalition of supporters and will invest $52.4 billion over the next decade to fix roads, freeways and bridges in communities across California and put more dollars toward transit and safety. Speakers at today’s rally included Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, Senator Jim Beall, Assemblymember Jim Frazier, Amador County Supervisor Richard Forster, Sacramento County Supervisor and California Air Resources Board member Phil Serna, Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Walnut Creek City Council member Cindy Silva, Northern California Carpenters Regional Council and California Transportation Commission Chair Bobby Alvarado, California State Council of Laborers Director Jose Mejia, Silicon Valley Leadership Group President Carl Guardino and Ray Ruiz, a San Jose-based business owner.
In recent days, state and legislative leaders have joined city and county officials in Riverside, Concord, Fresno, Bakersfield, San Diego and Los Angelesto build support for the landmark transportation investment package and Governor Brown testified at Senate and Assembly hearings on the legislation earlier this week.
SB 1 will cost most drivers less than $10 a month and comes with strict new accountability provisions to ensure funds can only be spent on transportation. The following funds will be split equally between state and local investments over a ten-year horizon:
Fix Local Streets and Transportation Infrastructure (50 percent):
– $15 billion in “Fix-It-First” local road repairs, including fixing potholes
– $7.5 billion to improve local public transportation
– $2 billion to support local “self-help” communities that are 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
– $250 million in local transportation planning grants.
Fix State Highways and Transportation Infrastructure (50 percent):
– $15 billion in “Fix-it-First” highway repairs, including smoother pavement
– $4 billion in bridge and culvert repairs
– $3 billion to improve trade corridors
– $2.5 billion to reduce congestion on major commute corridors
– $1.4 billion in other transportation investments, including $275 million for highway and intercity-transit improvements.
Ensure Taxpayer Dollars Are Spent Properly with Strong Accountability Measures:
– Constitutional amendment to prohibit spending the funds on anything but transportation
– Inspector General to ensure Caltrans and any entities receiving state transportation funds spend taxpayer dollars efficiently, effectively and in compliance with state and federal requirements
– Provision that empowers the California Transportation Commission to hold state and local government accountable for making the transportation improvements they commit to delivering
– Authorization for the California Transportation Commission to review and allocate Caltrans funding and staffing for highway maintenance to ensure those levels are reasonable and responsible
– Authorization for Caltrans to complete earlier mitigation of environmental impacts from construction, a policy that will reduce costs and delays while protecting natural resources.
Guided by the principles set forth by President Ronald Reagan when he increased the federal gas tax in 1982, this transportation investment package is funded by everyone who uses our roads and highways.
Legislators are expected to vote on the bill on Thursday, April 6, 2017.
Photo captions can be found below:
1.) SB 1 supporters rally at Capitol.
2.) Governor Brown gives remarks on East Steps of the State Capitol.
Photo Credit: Joe McHugh, California Highway Patrol. For high resolution copies of these photos, please contact Danella Debel, Office of the Governor at Danella.Debel@gov.ca.gov.