Rx for the Infrastructure

Gov. Gray Davis and a 45-member commission are embarking on one of the greatest challenges facing California in half a century: developing a public works program that will make up for decades of neglect of the public infrastructure.

This cannot be another commission study that ends up on dusty Capitol bookshelves. The state is facing a largely out-of-sight crisis that must be addressed immediately and continuously. Davis wants a preliminary report by May 1, outlining the most critical transportation, water and parks projects to be financed by bond issues on the 2000 ballot.

The Commission on Building for the 21st Century will continue its work through 2000 to produce a final report with recommendations for building the infrastructure that, as Davis’ commission proclamation put it, is needed to support California’s health and prosperity in the next century. Proclamations tend toward high-sounding rhetoric, but in this case the words do not exaggerate. Infrastructure is the fundamental network of public facilities: education, transportation, water and sanitation facilities, prison system, fire and police protection, parks, libraries and a host of other services.

It is sheer negligence on the part of previous administrations that California has no ongoing state program or financing mechanism to maintain these facilities. There have been periodic bond issues to finance road and school construction, but they have been patched together on an ad hoc basis or in a crisis atmosphere. The state must face the cost of long neglect, up to $100 billion over 10 to 15 years.

Pressure for a major infrastructure program increased considerably last year when the California Business Roundtable, an organization of California’s largest corporations, launched a campaign that proposed the use of existing sales tax revenues for infrastructure development. The Roundtable would divert a quarter-cent of state sales tax revenue, raising about $1 billion a year. The balance of the needed money would come from further bond issues, federal aid and local matching funds.

The sales tax idea, included in a proposed constitutional amendment sponsored by Sens. Steve Peace (D-San Diego) and Bruce McPherson (R-Santa Cruz), will be a focus of the commission. It should be weighed against other possible financing mechanisms, but it is critical that a specific amount be dedicated to capital construction on an annual basis.

Some priorities are obvious, such as long-deferred park maintenance and highway repairs. Beyond that, the commission needs to be creative in seeking new solutions to the infrastructure problem, considering innovative designs, new technologies, energy efficiency and realignment of government structures and programs.

There is a danger the program might bog down in political brokering and struggles among special-interest groups. If that happens the state will continue to crumble. The commission, the governor and lawmakers must dare to create a new California in the decades to come.