Three months after the state began collecting an extra 12 cents per gallon in gas taxes, officials have put dozens of road and bridge repair projects on the fast track. With momentum growing for a Republican-led campaign to repeal the gas tax hike, nervous proponents of the higher charges are hoping the flurry of construction activity on California highways will save the $54 billion the levies will generate during the next decade for the state’s badly neglected road system.
The stakes were raised Monday when President Trump announced plans to provide up to $200 billion in federal funds for road and other infrastructure projects, focusing heavily on the ability of states to provide substantial matching funds to receive a share of federal money.
“The proposed repeal of SB 1 would not only rob our state and local governments of vitally needed state funding, but now we learn that it could also hamper our ability to receive federal funding,” said Matt Cate, executive director of the California State Assn. of Counties.
For more on the benefits of SB 1 in California communities, click here.