GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Fix Our Roads – Roadmap to Consensus F
By Dave Ackerman
or the past year, AGC has actively participated in Te Fix Our Roads Coalition – a group of
industry, labor, business and govern- mental associations and organizations that are addressing the serious deterio- ration of our state and local roads and mass transit systems. We are urging Governor Brown
and the Legislature to agree on a plan that would more efficiently use existing transportation dollars and provide new revenue to fix years of neglect. In response to this crisis, Governor Brown included a plan in his proposed 2016-17 state budget, and compre- hensive legislation has been introduced by Senator Jim Beall and Assembly Member Jim Frazier. In addition, both Republican Caucuses have proposed a variety of reforms designed to improve state and local transportation processes. Tese measures set the framework for the Legislature to come together in support of a consensus solution. Te need for immediate action has
become even more critical following the California Transportation Commission decision to cut $754 million worth of specific projects from the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and delay another $755 million in STIP work. To encourage a legislative
consensus, the Coalition prepared a package of transportation reforms and funding provisions taken directly from pending proposals in the Senate and Assembly and the Governor’s proposed transportation plan. It includes:
Reforms/Other Provisions Enact sensible CEQA reforms to expedite transportation project delivery and cost-effectiveness.
Create the Office of Inspector General to examine transportation programs for inefficiencies and
www.AGC-CA.org opportunities to improve.
Expand the Federal Exchange and State Match Program to reduce duplicative federal processes and environmental review in addition to state requirements.
Dedicate and constitutionally protect existing and new revenues for transportation.
Provide for transparency and accountability of expenditures at the state and local levels.
Require agencies to meet perfor- mance targets or face the loss or suspension of future funding.
Provide flexibility to the Caltrans Director to make appropriate decisions on contracting out to meet state staffing needs.
Eliminate the sunset on the authori- zation of P3s.
Restoring Lost Revenue Fully restore truck weight fees for transportation projects over a five-year period by returning $200 million annually to transportation accounts which will generate $1 billion annually after five years.
Reset the price-based gas excise tax rate to its original rate of 17.3 cents to generate an additional $900 million annually and restore CTC STIP funding cuts and equivalent cuts to city and county road mainte- nance dollars.
Repay all existing General Fund transportation loans to the programs from which they were taken by June 2019.
Return the portion of the Propo- sition 42 replacement revenues attributable to the sale of fuels for off-highway purposes back to trans- portation projects (to date, about $804 million has been diverted to the General Fund) – approximately $100 million annually.
Return all non-Article XIX protected funds back to transpor- tation, which are currently being
diverted to the General Fund – approximately $65 million a year.
New Revenue Increase the gas excise tax by 12 cents to be phased in over three years which will generate $1.8 billion annually in year three.
Increase the diesel excise tax by 11 cents which will generate $300 million annually.
Create a road access fee of $65, to generate $2 billion annually.
Levy a zero emission vehicle fee of $100 which will generate $10 million annually.
Invest $500 million in cap and trade auction proceeds.
Increase the diesel sales tax rate from 1.75% to 5.25% which will generate $300 million.
Index the base excise tax, the 12-cent base excise tax increase, the price-based gas tax and the diesel excise tax annually.
Allocation of Revenue Share the gas excise tax, road access fee, and the zero emissions vehicle fee revenue among state highways and local streets and roads.
Te revenue from the price-based gas excise tax reset, including indexing, would flow through the existing formula: 44% STIP, 44% LSR, and 12% SHOPP.
Apply the diesel fuel excise tax revenues to the Trade Corridors Improvement Fund.
Apply the diesel fuel sales tax revenues to the State Transit Assis- tance program.
Allocate $100 million to streets and $400 million to the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program from the cap and trade funds. Tis proposal will generate ongoing
revenue of $4.9 billion in the first year and $6.9 billion in each year there- after.
Associated General Contractors of California 5
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