On April 28, 2017, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed a package of legislation to improve transportation in communities throughout California. The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, also known as SB 1, will invest $52.4 billion over the next decade in transit and fixing aging roads, highways and bridges.
SB 1 funding will come from a combination of increased taxes and fees on gasoline and diesel, a new transportation improvement fee, a new fee on zero-emission vehicles, repayment of transportation loans, and increased Caltrans efficiency measures.
The legislation will benefit Orange County by doubling funding for transit and local streets and roads, providing a new revenue source for intercity and commuter rail, adding new grant programs to target congested corridors, goods movement, and local planning, and contributing additional funding for active transportation, transit capital grants and freeway service patrol. Statewide, SB 1 is expected to invest $5 billion per year.
For the majority of car owners (about 60 percent of cars), the combination of new fuel and vehicle taxes will be less than $10 a month. Taxes and fees will phase in starting November 2017, with adjustments for inflation.
California has not increased the gas tax in 23 years. Since then, California’s population has grown by 8 million, with millions more cars and trucks on our roads.