California’s governor and leaders in the Legislature said they’re planning to move forward on a deal that would devote billions of dollars to fixing the state’s roads, freeways and bridges while also setting aside money for transit and safety, but opponents say it comes as the result of numerous tax and fee increases.

Gov. Jerry Brown, Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon on Wednesday joined labor, business and local leaders to announce the deal, which Brown’s office called “a landmark transportation investment.”

“California has a massive backlog of broken infrastructure that has been neglected far too long,” Brown said. “Fixing the roads will not get cheaper by waiting – or ignoring the problem. This is a smart plan that will improve the quality of life in California.

The plan already is getting pushback from some quarters, including State Board of Equalization Vice Chair George Runner.

"Leave it to elite, cosmopolitan Democrats to try and raise the gas tax on working-class and poor Californians who must travel further distances to work,” Runner said in a Wednesday statement.

Assembly and Senate Republicans also came out against the transportation package, which they say isn’t the right option for a state that’s becoming increasingly unaffordable for everyday residents.

In a joint statement, the groups said, “Californians already pay some of the highest gas taxes in the nation. The transportation proposal announced by the Capitol Democrats is a costly and burdensome plan that forces ordinary Californians to bail out Sacramento for years of neglecting our roads. This proposal would include the largest gas tax increase in state history, which will continue to rise over time, and a massive increase to the diesel tax and vehicle license fee.”

They said the state’s roads and bridges can be fixed by ensuring that the billions of dollars that drivers are already paying in transportation fees and taxes are actually used for transportation purposes, rather than being swept into the state’s General Fund.

The program as it’s proposed will invest $52.4 billion over the next decade, split equally between state and local investments. Proponents say it 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.

State Sen. Jim Beall (D-San Jose) introduced the bill, SB 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, in December. Signing on as co-authors are a number of state senators, including Bill Dodd and Mike McGuire, the latter who represents Lake County.

The language of the bill explains that it would create the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program to address deferred maintenance on the state highway system and the local street and road system.

It would raise revenue by increasing the state gas tax for the first time in 23 years by $0.12 per gallon increase, phased in over three years; a 20-cent increase to the diesel excise tax; a $38 increase to the vehicle registration fee; a $100 vehicle registration fee on zero emission vehicles; $300 million from existing cap and trade funds; and returning $500 million in vehicle weight fees phased in over five years.

“We have been working hard to ensure a critical transportation funding package was approved this year,” said McGuire. “We have a transportation funding crisis in California – our roads, highways and bridges are crumbling because our state has failed to invest in our transportation infrastructure – and tens of millions of California commuters, businesses and travelers are literally paying the price for our lack of action.”

McGuire said the transportation funding package will provide cities and counties with significant annual revenue streams to make local infrastructure improvements like rebuilding and paving local roads and streets and bridge repair.

Eighty-seven percent of California’s roads rated in fair or poor condition, and estimated statewide deferred maintenance backlog over the next 10 years of $132 billion, McGuire’s office reported.

McGuire also said that every billion dollars spent on transportation infrastructure, creates 14,000 full-time jobs.

Californians drive more than 350 billion miles a year– more than any other state – yet road and transit investments have not kept pace with this growth, officials reported.

An October report sponsored by the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties found that the conditions of California’s local streets and roads are deteriorating.

The state’s 58 counties and 482 cities own and maintain over 143,000 centerline-miles of local streets
and  roads, or 81.2 percent  of  the  state’s  total  publicly  maintained  centerline  miles, a network the report said is conservatively valued at more than $168 billion.

The report said the statewide average pavement condition index, or PCI, deteriorating to 65 – the “at risk” level – in 2016.

Lake County’s overall PCI is among the worst in the state, in the “poor” category with an overall rating of 40, for its 753 center line miles. The report showed that Lake County’s roads actually have improved from a PCI of 31 in 2010.

Leadership in both the Senate and the Assembly expect the measure to be voted on by Thursday, April 6.

SB 1 would raise the funds for the infrastructure programs from the following sources:

– $7.3 billion by increasing diesel excise tax 20 cents;
– $3.5 billion by increasing diesel sales tax to 5.75 percent;
– $24.4 billion by increasing gasoline excise tax 12 cents;
– $16.3 billion from an annual transportation improvement fee based on a vehicle’s value;
– $200 million from an annual $100 Zero Emission Vehicle fee commencing in 2020;
– $706 million in General Fund loan repayments.

The bill’s proposed infrastructure investments break down as follows.

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.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.