BILL NUMBER: AB 1910	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Harper

                        FEBRUARY 11, 2016

   An act relating to transportation, calling an election, to take
effect immediately.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1910, as introduced, Harper. Transportation: advisory question:
election.
   This bill would call a special election to be consolidated with
the November 8, 2016, statewide general election. The bill would
require the Secretary of State to submit to the voters at the
November 8, 2016, consolidated election an advisory question asking
whether the California Legislature should "disproportionately target
low-income and middle class families with a regressive tax increase
on gasoline and annual vehicle registrations to fund road maintenance
and rehabilitation, rather than ending the diversion of existing
transportation tax revenues for nontransportation purposes, investing
surplus state revenue in transportation infrastructure, repaying
funds borrowed from transportation accounts, prioritizing roads over
high-speed rail, and eliminating waste at the Department of
Transportation." The bill would also make legislative findings and
declarations.
   This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an act calling an election.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the Fix Our
Roads Act.
  SEC. 2.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
   (a) According to the Governor, California faces a $5.7 billion
annual shortfall in funding state highway maintenance and
rehabilitation. Local governments have identified an additional $7.8
billion annual shortfall for maintaining local streets and roads.
   (b) Ensuring the safe and efficient movement of goods and people
is a fundamental role of government. California has neglected its
roads and highways. According to the Department of Transportation
(Caltrans), more than 15 percent of the state's 50,000 miles of state
highways are characterized as "distressed," and require substantial
rehabilitation and reconstruction work. An additional 25 percent of
the state highway system is in need of corrective maintenance.
   (c) California is ranked 45th in the United States by the Reason
Foundation's 21st Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway
Systems for overall highway condition and performance.
   (d) According to The Road Information Program, a national
transportation research group, congestion-related delays cost
California motorists $20.4 billion every year. In Los Angeles and the
Bay Area, the average motorist loses 61 hours due to congestion each
year, costing $1,300 in lost time and wasted fuel. In the commercial
sector, $1.34 trillion in goods are shipped from sites in
California. According to the American Transportation Research
Institute, traffic congestion in California adds over $1.7 billion
annually in operational costs for the commercial trucking sector.
   (e) According to the American Petroleum Institute, Californians
pay the fourth highest gas tax in the nation.
   (f) In 2015, the state's cap-and-trade program was expanded to
cover transportation fuels. According to the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission, this added an additional 10
cents to the cost of a gallon of gas. The Legislative Analyst's
Office estimates this tax will grow automatically to between 13 cents
and 20 cents per gallon over the next five years. When this "hidden
tax" is included, Californians pay the highest gas tax in the nation.

   (g) This hidden tax on gasoline will generate between $1 billion
and $3 billion per year in new revenue. None of this revenue supports
road maintenance and rehabilitation.
   (h) During the last recession, the Legislature diverted
approximately $1 billion per year in truck weight fees from funding
road maintenance and rehabilitation to backfill the state's General
Fund.
   (i) General Fund spending grew by more than $15 billion between
the 2013-14 and 2015-16 fiscal years. The weight fee diversion has
not been reversed, and none of this new spending directly supported
road maintenance or rehabilitation projects.
   (j) The Legislative Analyst projects the state will have an $11.5
billion surplus in the 2016-17 fiscal year.
   (k) The Legislature borrowed $482 million from the state's Traffic
Congestion Relief Program in 2001. None of this loan has been
repaid.
   (l) The Legislature is funding construction of a
$68-billion-high-speed rail project. If constructed, this project
would reduce traffic congestion by only 1 percent. In addition to
more than $500 million per year in cap-and-trade revenue, taxpayers
will pay $650 million per year in bond debt service over the next 30
years to fund this project.
   (m) California does not spend existing road funds efficiently. The
cost of meeting the state's highway maintenance needs has nearly
tripled over 10 years, while gas tax revenue for maintenance has
remained steady. In May 2014, the Legislative Analyst released a
review of staff support costs at Caltrans. The report determined that
Caltrans is overstaffed by 3,500 full-time employees, at a cost of
more than $500 million per year.
   (n) Gas taxes and vehicle registration fees are regressive, and
disproportionately harm low-income and middle class working families.
Lower income Californians drive less fuel efficient vehicles, and
commute longer distances due to the state's lack of affordable
housing.
   (o) According to the American Automobile Association, Californians
already pay the highest gas prices in the nation.
   (p) The Governor proposes placing 1,500,000 zero-emission vehicles
on California's roads by 2025. Electric vehicle owners are
disproportionately wealthy, and do not contribute any gas tax to pay
for road maintenance and rehabilitation. According to an October 2015
University of California, Berkeley, study, the wealthiest 20 percent
of households capture 90 percent of federal tax credits for electric
vehicle purchases.
   (q) Because electric vehicle owners do not pay gas tax, increasing
the gas tax shifts the burden for roadway maintenance to lower
income Californians.
   (r) In September 2015, the Governor proposed a $500 million gas
tax increase, and a $2 billion vehicle registration fee increase, to
fund road maintenance and rehabilitation. The $65 registration fee
increase would more than double the existing base registration fee.
  SEC. 3.  A special election is hereby called to be held throughout
the state on November 8, 2016. The special election shall be
consolidated with the statewide general election to be held on that
date. The consolidated election shall be held and conducted in all
respects as if there were only one election and only one form of
ballot shall be used.
  SEC. 4.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 9040 of the Elections Code,
the Secretary of State shall submit the following advisory question
to the voters at the November 8, 2016, consolidated election:
   "Shall the California Legislature disproportionately target
low-income and middle class families with a regressive tax increase
on gasoline and annual vehicle registrations to fund road maintenance
and rehabilitation, rather than ending the diversion of existing
transportation tax revenues for nontransportation purposes, investing
surplus state revenue in transportation infrastructure, repaying
funds borrowed from transportation accounts, prioritizing roads over
high-speed rail, and eliminating waste at the Department of
Transportation?"
   (b) The provisions of the Elections Code that apply to the
preparation of ballot measures and ballot materials at a statewide
election apply to the measure submitted pursuant to this section.
  SEC. 5.  (a) Notwithstanding the requirements of Sections 9040,
9043, 9044, 9061, 9082, and 9094 of the Elections Code or any other
law, the Secretary of State shall submit Section 4 of this act to the
voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election.
   (b) Notwithstanding Section 13115 of the Elections Code, Section 4
of this act and any other measure placed on the ballot by the
Legislature for the November 8, 2016, statewide general election
after the 131-day deadline set forth in Section 9040 of the Elections
Code shall be placed on the ballot, following all other ballot
measures, in the order in which they qualified as determined by
chapter number.
   (c) The Secretary of State shall include, in the ballot pamphlets
mailed pursuant to Section 9094 of the Elections Code, the
information specified in Section 9084 of the Elections Code regarding
the ballot measure contained in Section 4 of this act.
  SEC. 6.  This act calls an election within the meaning of Article
IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect.