RECEIVE an update on Proposition 6, the ballot measure that would repeal the Senate Bill 1 gas tax and fees, and the impacts that this ballot measure would have on the delivery of priority Measure X projects and local road maintenance in Monterey County.

TAMC staff will present an update on Proposition 6, the proposed repeal of new gas taxes and vehicle registration fees. 

Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) increased California's gas taxes and vehicle fees for the first time in nearly 25 years. The gas tax revenue represents the first new investment in fixing California's roads in decades. If the gas taxes and vehicle fees are repealed, Monterey County will face a significant shortfall in meeting its transportation needs for years to come.

In April 2017, the California State Legislature passed, and Governor Brown signed, Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), which increases the gas tax by $0.12 per gallon, increases the diesel fuel tax by $0.20 per gallon, increases the sales tax on diesel fuels by an additional 4 percentage points, indexes the taxes to inflation, creates an annual transportation improvement fee based on vehicle value, and creates an annual zero-emission vehicle fee, phased in over time.

The stated purpose of this measure was to keep up with the inflationary cost of improving California's transportation system over the last 24 years, and to make up for the lost of revenues due to increasing fuel efficiency of vehicles. The estimated cost of these combined fees and taxes to the average California motorist is $8 per month. The Legislature agreed to focus the use of these funds primarily on maintenance and safety repairs in recognition of the estimated $130 billion backlog of repair projects for California's crumbling highways, roads, bridges, and transit systems. In Monterey County alone, this backlog of unfunded maintenance and safety needs is estimated at $1 billion. 

To date, Monterey County has secured the following funding from these new gas taxes and fees:

• $31 million for priority highway projects in the five-year State Transportation Improvement Program;
• $19 million for the Imjin Parkway Multimodal Corridor project;
• $21 million for local road repairs in fiscal year (FY) 2017-18;
• $1,510,000 in matching funds for Measure X projects in FY17-18 and FY18-19, including the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway;
• $505,000 in matching funds for Monterey Salinas Transit (MST) Senior Citizens, Veterans and People with Disabilities transit projects in FY17-18 and FY18-19;
• $2.5 million to MST for bus services each year;
• $772,000 to MST to replace 14 mini buses; and,
• $10 million for the Salinas Rail Extension project.

Caltrans is also putting its share of the "fix it first" formula funds to work on highways across the state, including new paving on Highways 68 and 101 in Monterey County.

The adopted TAMC five-year integrated funding plan (see web attachment) provides a strategy to match Measure X funds with state and federal dollars at a 2-to-1 ratio, primarily counting on these state gas tax funds. Taken together, all of these projects are intended to provide tangible, direct benefits to the traveling public in Monterey County with smoother roads, extended and improved transit service, and less congestion. It would be virtually impossible for Monterey County to construct large projects on that list without these new state transportation revenues.

Proposition 6, the "California Voter Approval for Gas and Vehicle Taxes Initiative," a constitutional amendment measure to repeal SB 1 and require gas tax increases to be subject to voter approval, will appear on the November 6, 2018 ballot. Staff will provide a verbal update on this Proposition at the meeting.