EBLC calls on East Bay legislators to support infrastructure investment

The East Bay Leadership Council calls on Senator Steve Glazer and Assemblymembers Catharine Baker and Tim Grayson to support SB 1, a bill that raises the revenue we need to fix our crumbling roads.
 
East Bay voters have every right to expect good roads and good government. Raising revenue for transportation has proved impossible for the last 23 years and can only be justified today if combined with meaningful reform that rebuilds the Legislature’s credibility among voters.
 
The East Bay Leadership Council is encouraged to see reforms included in the proposal that will make Caltrans more efficient and improve oversight and accountability. Revenue raised for transportation should be spent on transportation projects and this plan takes steps to make that commonsense idea a reality.
 
While reforms in the proposal go a long way, the accountability measures could have been strengthened and there should have been a process to make that happen. But transportation funding talks did not begin last week. These discussions have been taking place for years, but have failed to deliver a bipartisan solution. The diversity of perspectives in California make crafting the perfect bill impossible.
 
Everyone knows that voters hate gas taxes. A vote for this tax increase may be bad politics, but inaction will end up costing commuters more money and more time stuck on terrible roads.
 
The longer the legislature waits, the more expensive our roads will be to fix. Good stewards of taxpayer dollars understand that we should fix our roads before the price tag grows. If legislators wait until voters want to pay more in gas taxes, there will be no roads left worth fixing.
 
The East Bay Leadership Council calls on the legislature, especially our East Bay delegation, to support SB 1.