California Counties Will Put SB1 Revenue to Good Use
April 13, 2017
It won’t happen overnight, but California counties will soon see a significant influx of new revenue from SB1, the transportation funding bill that passed through the Legislature last week. Governor Brown is expected to sign the bill soon after lawmakers return from their spring recess. Due to a phasing-in of the new fees and taxes and indexing into the future, year one revenues will less than the revenues expected to be available in later years.
The revenues will be phased-in over several years as follows:
- New fuel taxes begin in November 2017,
- The value-based transportation improvement fee begins in Spring 2018,
- The price-based excise tax will be reset in July 2019, and
- New Zero Emissions Vehicles will begin to pay an additional registration fee for road maintenance for the first time in 2020.
Once fully implemented, approximately $1.5 billion per year in new revenue is earmarked for local streets and roads maintenance and rehabilitation and other eligible uses, including complete streets projects, traffic signals, and drainage improvements. California’s counties will share about $750 million annually, and the same amount will be allocated to cities.
In addition to formula funding, county roads will be eligible to compete for additional funding for active transportation and complete street projects, congested corridor projects, goods movement improvements, and additional state matching funds for self-help counties that pass sales taxes or impose comprehensive development fees to fund transportation.
While specific dollar amounts for counties must still be considered estimates, we asked several county Public Works or Transportation Directors to tell us how they plan to put the new revenue to use:
Mike Penrose, Director of the Sacramento County Department of Transportation
“SB 1 provides a much needed and essential source of funding to address a current budget shortfall, a significant pavement maintenance backlog for unincorporated area roads and for much-needed transportation infrastructure projects.
Sacramento County priorities for SB 1 funding include:
- Budget Shortfall: Because of declining transportation funding in general, SACDOT faced a significant budget shortfall this fiscal year. With the passage of SB 1, the Department can now maintain staffing levels and even improve service levels.
- Pavement Maintenance Backlog: This new funding source will enable the Department to start to address a current $450 million pavement maintenance backlog.
- Complete Streets – ADA, Sidewalk and Bicycle Improvements: SACDOT also plans on using new SB 1 funds for complete street projects that include bicycle, pedestrian and ADA improvements.
- Bridges: These new funds will be leveraged with federal funding for projects to replace and/or rehabilitate structurally deficient bridges. A number of bridge projects are ready to go to construction.
SB 1 funding will go a long way towards enhancing all aspects of transportation maintenance and will provide a jump start on the deferred maintenance backlog. However, these new funds are not adequate to cover the entire backlog. Additional funding sources will have to be developed to address the entire funding shortfall for local streets. I’m grateful to the Sacramento legislators who supported SB1, Senator Richard Pan and Assemblymembers Ken Cooley, Jim Cooper and Kevin McCarty.”
Scott McGolpin, Santa Barbara County Public Works Director
“New State transportation funding will improve traffic safety and mobility for Santa Barbara County. This funding will bolster all three areas of transportation maintenance in the County: corrective maintenance, like repairing potholes and improving ADA access; preservation work to keep roads, bike lanes, and sidewalks in good condition; and replacement of bridges, drainage systems, and antiquated traffic devices.
We have been struggling with dwindling resources just to perform the most basic pothole patching, cleaning, and clearing work. New State funding allows purchasing much-needed asphalt, concrete, crack seal, and other critical materials to complete annual road work plans, as well as respond to thousands of customer service requests that come in each year.
In short, this new funding will be used to enhance all aspects of transportation maintenance. While there still remains a tremendous financial need at the local level, this flexible funding allows local agencies to get a jump on our deferred maintenance backlogs now. As additional funding sources are developed we will be able to stop the continued degradation and increase the quality of our transportation systems in the future. I want to thank the Governor and Legislature for understanding the state-wide need for additional funding.”
Matt Machado, Stanislaus County Public Works Director
“Every single resident needs and depends upon county roads and bridges every day. It is a service that is taken for granted and yet complained about daily. Our network of roads and bridges is the biggest asset the County owns and the biggest liability. For more than a decade roads and bridges have been severely underfunded. Our infrastructure condition has fallen dramatically. Prior to this past winter, our annual maintenance deficit was $14 million per year with a backlog of more than $75 million of unfunded needs.
The recent legislation SB1 is the biggest step in the right direction that I have seen in more than 20 years. Our maintenance share in Stanislaus County is approximately $12.5 million per year, nearly meeting our annual deferred maintenance gap. In Stanislaus County, we plan to leverage this money with our local sales tax funds and other state and federal funding to aggressively resurface roads, rebuild roads and improve unincorporated urban areas that are in need of sidewalks and drainage improvements. SB1 will make a real difference that all citizens will notice and appreciate. Thank you to Senator Cannella, Assemblymember Gray and Senator Galgiani.”
Jeff Pratt, Ventura County Public Works Director
“The Ventura County Public Works Agency will use a significant portion of the increase in transportation funding annually (about $6 to 7 million) to complete pavement resurfacing projects to maintain the unincorporated Pavement Condition Index (PCI) in the mid 70’s. Some funding will also be used for local bridge maintenance.
The remainder (about $3M) will be used as local match for grant applications and to fund (over a period of years) improvement projects prioritized and improved by the Board of Supervisors in the County’s Capital Improvement Program. These include safety and other improvements to intersections. Thank you to Senators Hannah-Beth Jackson and Henry Stern, and Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin for supporting SB1.”