Davis Proposes to Spend Billions More on Transit

A day after the legislative analyst noted that Californians spend 418,000 hours a day stuck in traffic, Gov. Gray Davis on Friday proposed spending $2 billion from the gasoline sales tax over the next five years to finance freeway and mass transit projects.

Davis wants to raise spending by at least $5.3 billion on roads and mass transportation projects during the next five years, with $2 billion of that coming in the 2000-01 fiscal year, beginning July 1.

The expenditure, part of Davis’ proposed budget for the year, would be the largest from general taxes ever allocated to transportation in California. However, it meets a fraction of the need.

The California Transportation Commission estimates the state will fall $100 billion short of meeting its transit needs over the next 10 years. The legislative analyst said transportation funding should be increased by $1 billion a year.

In comments Friday, aides to Davis said the governor is dropping plans to push a $2-billion bond to pay for transportation construction projects. Last month, when he initially outlined his transportation plan, Davis proposed that such a bond be placed on the November ballot.

Republicans and some Democrats criticized the bond proposal, saying the state should not go more deeply into debt when it is accumulating a huge surplus, now estimated at between $11 billion and $16 billion.

Instead of a bond, Davis is suggesting that the state spend down the surplus by paying for the projects with sales tax money that otherwise would go into the state general fund. The idea requires legislative approval and will be a part of this year’s budget negotiations.

“That’s one heck of a lot better than his earlier proposal,” Assembly Republican Leader Scott Baugh of Huntington Beach said Friday. “A year ago, the Democrats laughed at Republicans when we had the audacity to propose that we pay as we go.”

Assembly Speaker Bob Hertzberg (D-Sherman Oaks) also lauded the idea. “Given the size of the surplus, it is time to pay cash,” Hertzberg said.

In April, Davis proposed spending $5.3 billion for a variety of projects throughout the state. In Southern California, Davis is offering $2.4 billion to help buy new buses in the Los Angeles region, build a light-rail line between Union Station and East Los Angeles, increase bus operations on the Westside and in the San Fernando Valley and widen several stretches of freeway.

The state will spend $4.5 billion on transportation this year, with the bulk coming from an 18-cent-per-gallon gasoline tax. The state also imposes sales tax on gasoline, at a rate of at least 7.25 cents per dollar.

The gasoline sales tax raises about $900 million a year. In past years, most of that money went into the state general fund for use on state programs ranging from schools to parks. Now, Davis is proposing to earmark about half of that sum--$440 million a year for five years--for transportation, an idea that Republicans long have advocated.

California also receives federal transportation money, about $3.3 billion this year, while cities, counties and local transit districts contribute an additional $7.5 billion to roads and mass transit systems.

The legislative analyst’s report pointed out that while California’s population grew 18% between 1988 and 1998, the amount of driving Californians do grew by 30% during that period. Making matters worse, freeway capacity increased by only 1%.

As of 1998, 40% of the state’s freeways were deemed congested, meaning motorists travel at 35 mph or slower during peak commuting times. The congestion takes a toll on more than nerves and the economy. It damages the environment. The traffic gridlock results in 418 tons of pollutants each day, the legislative analyst report noted.

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The legislative analyst’s full transportation report is available online at www.lao.ca.gov.