Senate Joint Resolution No. 24

Introduced by Senator Beall

August 2, 2016

Senate Joint Resolution No. 24—Relative to federal transportation funding.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SJR 24, as introduced, Beall. Federal transportation funding.

This measure would urge Congress and the President of the United States to fully fund the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program at a level of $525 million in the 2017 fiscal year to provide additional critical investment in California and elsewhere, and to work together to finally find a long-term, sustainable funding solution to restore the lost purchasing power of the federal fuel excise tax, provide California and the rest of the country with the resources needed to rebuild its infrastructure, invest in its people through good, well-paying jobs, and restore our economy.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, California’s transportation infrastructure is aging
and in serious need of repair with the state facing a $59 billion
shortfall to bring the existing state highway system to a state of
good repair over the next decade and with California cities and
counties facing a $78 billion shortfall in restoring their own systems
over the same period; and

WHEREAS, California motorists spend $17 billion annually in
extra maintenance and car repair bills, more than $700 per driver,
due to the state’s poorly maintained roads; and

WHEREAS, Freight transportation is critical to the economic
vitality of the United States and robust investment in safe and
efficient transportation facilities and infrastructure is essential to
promoting strong economic growth in California and throughout
the nation; and

WHEREAS, California has the most extensive, complex, and
interconnected freight system in the country, including a system
of seaports stretching from the City of Humboldt to the City of
San Diego, six international land ports of entry along the United
States-Mexico border, and a vast network of freight rail lines and
truck routes which enable the state to serve as the nation’s gateway
to international trade; and

WHEREAS, California’s freight network moves 1.8 billion tons
of goods, valued at more than $2 trillion, throughout the state, the
vast majority of which travels to destinations beyond the state’s
borders; and

WHEREAS, Freight shipments into, out of, and within
California are projected to grow approximately 180 percent by the
year 2040; and

WHEREAS, California’s freight system is responsible for the
creation of 800,000 freight jobs and stimulates the creation of
millions of other jobs throughout the economy; and

WHEREAS, Expansion of public transportation is a key element
of California’s strategy to improve mobility while meeting critical
greenhouse gas reduction targets, yet the California Transit
Association reports that the state’s public transit agencies face a
10-year $72 billion capital and operating shortfall; and

WHEREAS, In December 2015, the United States Congress
passed, and President Barack Obama signed, the Fixing America’s
Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), which represents the first
long-term federal transportation bill in more than a decade; and

WHEREAS, The FAST Act provides California and other states
with long-term certainty and stability in financing transportation
projects by providing marginal increases in most existing highway
and transit programs, as well as $2.1 billion annually in new freight
investment; and

WHEREAS, The FAST Act still falls short of the level of
investment needed to rebuild California’s and the nation’s
infrastructure because the United States Congress has not raised
the federal fuel excise tax that traditionally has funded
transportation since 1993, and meanwhile, the tax has lost more
than 55 percent of its purchasing power and Congress has been
unable to agree on an alternative to restore that funding gap; now,
therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature commends Congress and
the President of the United States for enacting the FAST Act to
provide stability and reliability in federal transportation funding
over the next five years; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature urges Congress and the President
to fully fund the Transportation Investment Generating Economic
Recovery (TIGER) program at a level of $525 million in the 2017
fiscal year to provide additional critical transportation investment
in California and elsewhere; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature urges Congress and the President
to work together to finally find a long-term, sustainable funding
solution to restore the lost purchasing power of the federal fuel
excise tax, and provide California and the rest of the country with
the resources needed to rebuild its infrastructure, invest in its
people through good, well-paying jobs, and restore our economy;
and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the
author for appropriate distribution.