Newsom’s plan does little to boost mobility

Thanks to a dramatic boost in tax revenue, Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken on the role of Santa Claus as he distributes $38 billion in an unexpected discretionary budget surplus along with $25 billion in new federal aid. As part of his May budget revision, Newsom released a 235-page “California Comeback Plan” that distributes state dollars far and wide — and boosts spending by nearly a third over current levels.

Newsom depicts the spending spree as “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to not only speed the state’s recovery from the pandemic, but to address long-standing challenges and provide opportunity for every California family.” Although direct payments are never ideal, we can’t complain too much about the billions of dollars in stimulus checks given that the state essentially shuttered the economy for a year.

There’s less there than meets the eye, however, when it comes to spending that would address the state’s growing infrastructure backlog. Newspaper reports touted the governor’s road plan, but only a small portion of the $11-billion funding pie goes toward the kind of traditional infrastructure projects that should be at the top of the state’s list, rather than a perennial afterthought.

The governor’s comeback document devotes only a tiny section to infrastructure spending. The proposal earmarks $1 billion toward preparing Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympic Games. It directs $4.2-billion to help complete the wasteful high-speed rail segment between Bakersfield and Merced. The plan directs a half-billion dollars toward environmental projects — ones that promote walking, biking and reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions.

Another $1 billion would promote “rail and transit connectivity.” Then, finally, the governor would spend $2 billion on priority state highway programs and local road and bridge investments. Nearly a half of that money would come from federal transportation funds. That $2 billion extra to boost roads and bridges isn’t that much more than he plans to spend ($1.5 billion) on trash cleanup and road beautification.

It’s easy to document the pitiful condition of the state’s roads and bridges based on anecdotal evidence as well as myriad infrastructure-related studies. “California’s highway system ranks 43rd in the nation in overall cost-effectiveness and condition,” reported the libertarian Reason Foundation’s 25th annual rankings of the nation’s highway systems.

That study points to the glaring need to upgrade our infrastructure given that it is a core responsibility of the state government. But it also reminds us of the ongoing inefficiency of the California Department of Transportation’s bureaucracy, which spends 2.5 times more on per-mile freeway construction than the national average.

Despite having the nation’s highest gas taxes after a large increase in 2017, California’s “road repair program faces financial trouble — a projected $6.1 billion annual shortfall,” as the Sacramento Bee recently reported. No matter how much money the state receives, Caltrans never has enough to get the job done.

State officials blame pandemic-related travel reductions for the shortfall, but the problem has more to do with the poor way that California manages its existing dollars. For instance, a 2015 state audit found that Caltrans had 3,500 redundant positions — the elimination of which could free up another half-billion dollars a year in road-related improvements.

Instead of focusing on giveaways, the governor should use the surplus to help fix the state’s enduring infrastructure problems. This was another missed opportunity.