MTC Applauds Passage of $52B State Funding Package

“I guess it should come as no surprise that the two guys who led the Legislature out of more than two decades in the wilderness are both from the Bay Area,” said Haggerty, noting that Beall hails from San Jose and Frazier from Oakley. Chairman Mackenzie added, “They get it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re dodging potholes on a suburban street or on a crumbling road in rural Sonoma County, or stuck in traffic getting to your job in Silicon Valley or San Francisco — the state’s transportation infrastructure was badly in need of repair and congestion relief is needed across the Bay Area.  Both Chairmen Beall and Frazier have been strong enough, smart enough and stubborn enough to devote years to finding a solution that two-thirds of the Legislature could agree on.”

SB 1, formally known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, received the needed two-thirds majority from the Legislature, passing the Assembly by a vote of 54-26 and the Senate by a vote of 27-11. The bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Jerry Brown.

The bill is expected to generate $52.4 billion for transportation investments over the next decade. This includes:

• $24.4 billion by increasing the state excise tax on gasoline by 12 cents per gallon;
• $16.3 billion from an annual vehicle licensing fee based on vehicle value;
• $7.3 billion by increasing the state excise tax on diesel fuel by 20 cents per gallon;
• $3.5 billion by increasing the sales tax on diesel fuel to 5.75 percent;
• $706 million through repayments from the state General Fund; and
• $200 million from an annual $100 Zero Emission Vehicle fee that would start in 2020.

These funds would be split 50/50 between a “Fix Local Streets and Transportation Infrastructure” element and a “Fix State Highways and Transportation Infrastructure” component.  The 10-year forecast for the local funding portion includes:

• $15 billion for local street and road repairs;
• $7.5 billion for public transit improvements;
• $2 billion to support “self-help” counties in which voters have approved dedicated transportation sales taxes (includes all Bay Area counties except Solano);
• $1 billion to improve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure;
• $825 million for local contribution to State Transportation Improvement Program; and
• $250 million for local transportation planning grants.

Ten-year projections for the state portion of the funding package include:

• $15 billion for highway repairs;
• $4 billion to repair bridges and culverts;
• $3 billion to improve freight-movement corridors;
• $2.5 billion to reduce congestion in major commute corridors.