Repealing gas tax could eliminate certain road repair projects in the area
Supporters of Prop. 6 say funds can be found elsewhere
Editor’s Note: for District 4, said prior to Senate Bill 1, which put the gas tax in place, Yuba County was receiving around $2.2 million annually in gas tax dollars.
“That money was enough to fill potholes,” Bradford said. “It wasn’t enough to do any serious overlay projects.”
He said once the funding from SB1 is rolled out, it would add around $5 million annually, so the county would be receiving around $7.2 million.
With the funding that they have received, they have been able to work on seven sections of road during the year, he said.
He added that if voters choose to pass Prop. 6, that additional $5 million would be in jeopardy, along with a portion of the original $2.2 million.
In a Yuba County Board of Supervisors staff report from the Community Development and Services Agency, the pricebased excise tax portion of the pre-sb1 gas tax will potentially reset to its historic low rate of 9.8 cents per gallon.
Michael Lee, public works director for Yuba County and the person who presented the staff report to the Board of Supervisors, said they now have a plan to rehabilitate several roads in the county, and the passage of Prop. 6 would cause those projects to be put on hold or cancelled.
Before SB1, the gas tax hadn’t been raised since 1994, Lee said, but the cost of other things had risen during that time period.
“Over the years, the costs of construction and other things have gone up and the gas tax has been kind of a dwindling resource, it hasn’t kept pace,” he said.
The California Department of Finance calculated the cost to the average motorist of SB1 is roughly $10 per month.
Chuck Smith, public information officer for Sutter County, said the possible elimination of the road funding would significantly reduce Sutter County’s ability to perform road rehabilitation.
He said before SB1, the county budgeted between $500,000 and $1 million each year for pavement rehabilitation. With SB1, the county is estimated to receive $39 million over the next 10 years, or $3.9 million annually.
“Obviously, the infusion of these needed funds will dramatically increase the miles of county road that we can maintain each year,” Smith said.
He said the most significant impact of Prop. 6 passing would be the dramatic reduction in the number of road miles Sutter County could repave or rehabilitate each year.
Lee said safety is one of the benefits of the gas tax. If the road is in better condition, it’s going to be safer for people to drive on.
Another benefit, he said, is the impact on vehicle repairs.
“When you have poor roads and vehicles hitting potholes, there’s an increase for vehicle maintenance,” Lee said.
State Senator Jim Nielsen, for California’s 4th District, said in a candidate forum that more taxes are not needed to fix roads and highways when asked about his position on Prop. 6. He said funds from other sources need to be redirected back into infrastructure.
California Assemblyman James Gallagher, for California’s 3rd District, said in a candidate forum that Prop. 6 is a regressive tax and it’s the hardest on the poor, when asked about his position on the initiative. He said the state has enough money, but it needs to be prioritized properly.