Always being one who typically steers away from talking about political issues, this little snippet is a step away from the norm for me. Right now having to drive on the roads and highways all over Southern California that are in dire need of repairs, I just wanted to take a second to talk about our newest state Senate Bill here to raise the gas tax. It may be just what California actually needs! Although new taxes are always a hard pill to swallow, trying to make a living on the highways here that are in serious disrepair is an even harder pill to swallow every single day!
If approved, this first new gas tax increase in 23 years may do great things for the roads, highways and bridges here in the state. It actually contains provisions that specifically allocate percentages of the $5.2 Billion raised annually to specific areas where they are actually needed. This would be a great start towards the nearly $130 Billion in backlogged projects needed to bring our current infrastructure back up to par. As long as this bill comes with some oversight and accountability to make sure the funds are not being mismanaged, it could mean good things for the crippled state of California roads and bridges.
Even though I am almost certain that certain special interests are involved as with any new bill, the money for the much needed infrastructure repairs needed in the state have to ultimately come from somewhere. A lot of people are up in arms about the nearly $.30 per gallon increase on excise tax for gas and nearly $.20 per gallon increase on the excise tax for diesel, but if new road funds do not come from this method, not many others have any ideas about where else it could come from. I will admit I am not happy about the increase in the fuel prices that it will lead to if approved, but the one thing I will be happy about are the roads, highways and bridges once they are actually fixed and no longer structurally deficient!