CALIFORNIA—Governor Jerry Brown, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, addressed the labor, business and local leaders in Sacramento California on Thursday, March 30 seeking support for their newly drafted proposal aimed towards improving California’s road conditions. The proposal is to raise enough money to rehabilitate California roads, freeways, potholes and worn out pavements. Brown called the proposal a ‘Landmark Transportation Investment.’
The legislation, Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, SB 1 (Beall), proposes an investment of $52.4 billion over a course of 10 years. The amount will be split equally between state and local investments. The 10-year plan translates into $5 billion a year program. According to Governor Brown, drivers will pay “less than $10 a month.”
The legislation requires to gather at a least two-thirds vote in both houses of the legislature after deliberating the proposed revenue sources. The investment requires hiking up vehicle registration fees and a charge of $100 on all emission free vehicles, NBC Bay Area news reported.
Brown stressed the importance of road repairs and despite the cost and efforts, it’s work that must be done. Brown likened California roads to “leaky roofs” that need to be fixed, or else we are left with “a screwed up state with a bunch of potholes,”, he stated on the stairs of the Capitol on Thursday. Brown tweeted, “Of all the stuff we do in government, nothing is more agreed to than making sure our roads are safe — and fixed. This is so fundamental.”
He sold the idea to the audience by explaining that better infrastructure is impossible to achieve without taxpayer’s contribution. He said “Its’ not eating cotton candy. This is real spinach.” “This is mostly about fixing what we already have. If for some reason people try to fight this, and God help us if they were successful, they won’t defeat this, they’ll just delay it and make the expenses go up,” Brown added.
The new legislation, if it goes into effect, will come with a set of strict provisions to ensure that the taxpayer’s money is strictly used towards the proposed road repair.
