SACRAMENTO – Assemblyman Matthew Harper, R-Huntington Beach, earlier this month announced the Fix Our Roads Act of 2016, which would give California voters the chance to weigh in on whether or not the Legislature and Governor should pass a regressive gas tax and vehicle registration fee.
“The Governor has said that the people must have a choice when it comes to raising the taxes they pay,” Harper said, citing a 2011 speech the Governor gave to the California Teachers Association. “I am proposing we do exactly the same thing here. Letting the people decide what they think about new taxes before we force new taxes upon them is not a revolutionary idea.”
The Fix Our Roads Act would place an advisory question on the 2016 ballot, thus allowing voters to state whether or not the Legislature should enact tax increases on gasoline and vehicle registration, as the Governor proposed in his budget.
According to the American Automobile Association, Californians already pay the highest gas prices in the nation. The price at the pump includes roughly $0.10 per gallon in a hidden gas tax as part of California’s cap-and-trade program. Low-income Californians end up paying many of these taxes, because they drive less fuel efficient vehicles, and commute longer distances to work.
“California does not have a revenue problem. There is money for transportation, but the state chooses to spend it on other things.” Harper said, “The voters need to know this before they are asked to pay more for transportation projects.”
The Fix Our Roads Act describes the ways the state has routinely spent transportation funds on other projects. In 2001, the Legislature borrowed $482 million for the state’s Traffic Congestion Relief Program to spend on other purposes, the majority of which has not been repaid. Since 2010, the Legislature has moved $1 billion per year in truck weight fees from funding road maintenance, to the General Fund.
Assemblyman Matthew Harper represents the 74th Assembly District; he is the former Mayor of the City of Huntington Beach. The 74th Assembly District includes the cities of Huntington Beach, Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, Irvine, Laguna Woods & Laguna Beach.
1 comment
The law they actually need to make is for all road, bridge, vehicle, gas, and other related taxes may not be used anywhere but our transportation systems, road and bridge maintenance and construction…and that should not cover the croney unicorn train!
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