Earlier this week, California State Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins joined the transportation community for the California Transportation Foundation’s Annual Transportation Forum to announce the Assembly’s ambitious proposal to provide $10 billion in transportation funding over the next five years. The Assembly transportation proposal centers around establishing a new Road User Charge, which they project will raise approximately $1.8 billion in transportation revenues, through a user fee based on vehicle miles traveled. While the full details of the Assembly’s transportation proposal are limited, a portion of the new transportation revenues would be used to backfill nearly $1 billion in Truck Weight Fees per year that are currently being used to pay off general obligation bond debt, thereby redirecting Truck Weight Fees back to the transportation system. The proposal also estimates the Road User Charge would bring an additional $800 million above and beyond the $1 billion used to backfill Truck Weight Fees, and anticipates accelerating transportation loan repayments of approximately $200 million per year. In total, the Assembly transportation proposal seeks to generate $2 billion annually over the next five years to fund our state and local transportation system.
