Repairing Legislation and The Road! CSAC Sponsors SB 922 (Laird)  

CSAC is proud to cosponsor SB 922 by Senator Laird alongside the League of California Cities (Cal Cities) and the Rural County Representatives of California (RCRC). This bill aims to clarify and reaffirm long-standing local authority to recover street maintenance and repair costs caused by essential public services through service-related fees and charges. 

Essential public services—including garbage, recycling, and green waste collection—rely on the regular use of local streets by heavy vehicles and provide critical public health and environmental benefits. For decades, local governments have incorporated the resulting street maintenance and repair costs into the rates, fees, or franchise agreements for these services. These practices are familiar, predictable, and transparent for both local governments and service providers, and they help ensure that local governments are not forced to rely solely on the General Fund or limited state transportation revenues to maintain safe and reliable streets and highways.  

Recent lawsuits, however, have challenged these longstanding practices. In particular, a recent court decision in Rogers v. City of Redlands determined that road repair costs recovered through solid waste fees was a violation of an unrelated section of the vehicle code. This decision puts counties and cities at risk of losing essential streams of revenue and has prompted litigation challenging these longstanding cost recovery mechanisms. 

SB 922 restores clarity by affirming that the existing statutory prohibition applies only to weight-based charges and does not apply to service-related fees that recover the roadway impacts caused by public service operations. 

CSAC’s most recent letter can be found here.  

Interested in signing on? Click here for our template SUPPORT letter to the Senate Committee on Local Government.