03/28/2024

Some Businesses Back Higher Gas Taxes in California

The governor’s $3.6 billion transportation spending package to fund repairs of California’s dilapidated roads failed to pass this week, but it may get another chance during a continuing special session of the legislature.

When it, or a successor compromise plan, does return, it’s likely to have the continuing support of prominent business groups, according to Kathy Fairbanks of Fix Our Roads, a coalition of business, local government and unions. Fix Our Roads had earlier supported a $6 billion plan.

Businesses aren’t known for their support of tax increases, but the California and Greater Los Angeles Area chambers of commerce are among the groups rooting for more revenue to help Caltrans catch up on some $59 billion worth of deferred maintenance to roads and bridges.

In return, the Fix Our Roads coalition wants California to change how it funds transportation, says Orange County Business Council CEO Lucy Dunn. For one, businesses want transportation taxes and fees to be strictly reserved for transportation projects, she says.

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