California Considers Placing A Mileage Tax On Drivers

California Considers Placing A Mileage Tax On Drivers

By Phil MatierDecember 11, 2017 at 6:33 pm


SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — California is moving closer to charging drivers for every mile they drive.

The state says it needs more money for road repairs, and the gas tax just isn’t bringing in enough revenue.

The state recently road-tested a mileage monitoring plan.

The California Road Charge Pilot Program is billed as a way for the state to move from its longstanding pump tax to a system where drivers pay based on their mileage.

But it’s not just a question about money, it’s also a question about fairness.

State Senator Scott Wiener and others are saying that when it comes to road taxes, it’s time to start looking at charging you by the mile rather than by the gallon.

“If you own an older vehicle that is fueled by gas, you’re paying gas tax to maintain the roads. Someone who has an electric vehicle or a dramatically more fuel efficient vehicle is paying much less than you are. But they are still using the roads,” Wiener said.

“People are going to use less and less gas in the long run,” according to Wiener.

And less gas means less gas tax, and less money for road repair.

“We want to make sure that all cars are paying to maintain the roads,” Wiener said.

One idea would be installing devices that would clock your mileage every time you pull up to the pump or electric car charging station. Or put a tracker on every car.

“The reality is that if you have a smartphone your data of where you are traveling is already in existence,” Wiener said.

None of this is sitting well with drivers such as Joshua Li, the owner of a hybrid BMW.

Li said he saves around $200 a month by not using gas and said he would definitely not be happy if his driving was taxed per mile.

Randy Rentschler, of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, said one answer is to raise the gas tax and up the vehicle registration fee for electric cars.

“If you buy a small car that gets great fuel economy, we don’t get enough money to repair the roads … but the fact of the matter is people are buying trucks,” Rentschler said.

However, raising vehicle registration fees and taxing people with fuel-efficient, hybrid or electric vehicles could also discourage people from purchasing such vehicles.

Fuel-efficient, hybrid and electric vehicles are key to reducing vehicle emissions and improving air quality around the world.

Shooting straight on state gas tax measure

Editorial: Shooting straight on state gas tax measure

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra speaks during an interview with the Associated Press. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) 

POSTED: 11/19/17, 2:04 PM PST 

California has a long history of election meddling by state attorneys general who try to put a thumb on the scale before voters weigh in on ballot measures.

Now Xavier Becerra is using his entire fist to squash attempts to repeal the state’s new 12-cent-a-gallon gas tax increase and $25 to $175 boost in annual vehicle registration fees.

Repealing the taxes championed by Gov. Jerry Brown would be terrible for California, whose roads and bridges have deteriorated to a dangerous degree over the past decade. But the attorney general is stooping to new lows of electoral deception to try to stop it, and that’s just plain wrong.

The issue is an initiative by Assemblyman Travis Allen, R-Huntington Beach, to repeal the increased tax and fees. He hopes to qualify it for the November 2018 election.

Becerra insisted that the title on the signature petitions make no mention of repealing “taxes and fees.” Instead, he directed that it say it would “repeal revenues” for road repair and transportation funding.

Seriously. “Repeal revenues.” Whatever that means.

Becerra’s obfuscation is a pathetic attempt to hide the truth and discourage voters from signing the petitions. That is essentially what Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley concluded when Allen appealed the attorney general’s petition language.

The judge called Becerra’s title and summary “confusing, misleading, and likely to create prejudice against the proposed measure.” It “obscures the chief purpose of the initiative: repeal of the recently enacted taxes and fees.”

Frawley ordered new language, explicitly stating that the initiative would repeal those taxes and fees.

Becerra appealed to the state Court of Appeal, saying the judge overstepped his authority. Last week, the 3rd District Court of Appeal in Sacramento ruled in Becerra’s favor, deciding that his summation of the initiative was “neutrally presented.” State law gives the attorney general “considerable latitude” in writing the official description, the court ruled.

Common sense tells us Frawley got the substance right. Allen says he will appeal the decision, taking it to the state Supreme Court.

While this fight is over the initiative petition language, the attorney general also controls the wording on the ballot and the short summary in the ballot pamphlet. In each case, the wording is supposed to be true, impartial and convey the measure’s chief purposes and points.

But, like his predecessors, Becerra, who must stand for election next year, is using his power over initiatives to sway voters and score political points with supporters — in this case to protect the governor’s transportation tax plan. It was Brown who earlier this year appointed Becerra to replace Kamala Harris as attorney general.

There’s a remedy for this. The responsibility for presenting clear information to voters should be taken away from politicians and turned over to the non-partisan state legislative analyst.

Political leaders aren’t big on giving up power. So it will probably take a good-government initiative to get it done. We can only imagine what that petition title might say.

Gov. Brown and Assemblyman Vince Fong argue gas tax

During a legislative hearing, Assemblyman Vince Fong (R-Bakersfield) questioned California Gov. Jerry Brown about the increase in gasoline taxes and vehicle registration fees and the response, at times, grew testy.

Without Government Unions, there Would be No Gas Tax Increase

Without Government Unions, there Would be No Gas Tax Increase

November 1, 2017/by Ed Ring

Nobody argues that California’s roads need huge upgrades. But the solution didn’t require the $0.12 per gallon tax hike that goes into effect today. The root cause of these neglected roads – and the reason even more taxes will never be enough to fix them – is the power of public sector unions, whose agenda is consistently at odds with the public interest. Let us count the ways.

1 – CalTrans mismanagement:

CalTrans could have done a much better job of maintaining California’s roads. One of the most diligent critics (and auditors) of CalTrans is state Senator John Moorlach (R, Costa Mesa), the only CPA in California’s state legislature. Last year, Moorlach released a report on CalTrans which he summarized in “7-Step Fix for ‘Mismanaged’ Caltrans,” an article on his official website. Just a few highlights include the following:
In May 2014 the Legislative Analyst Office determined that CalTrans was overstaffed by 3,500 architects and engineers, costing over $500 million per year.
While to an average state transportation agency outsources over 50% of its work, CalTrans outsources only 10% of its work. Arizona and Florida outsource more than 80%.
54% of CalTrans staff is at or near retirement age, so a hiring freeze would reduce staff merely through attrition, without requiring layoffs.

But Moorlach didn’t make explicit the reason CalTrans is mismanaged. It’s because the unions that run Sacramento don’t want to outsource CalTrans work. The unions don’t want to reduce CalTrans headcount, or hold CalTrans management accountable. Those actions might help Californians, but they would undermine union power.

2 – Bullet train boondoggle:

Money that could have been allocated to maintain and improve California’s roads is being squandered on a train that will do nothing to ameliorate California’s transportation challenges. A LOT of money. According to the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, California’s freeways can be resurfaced and have a lane added in each direction at a cost of roughly $5.0 million per mile in rural areas, about twice that in urban areas.

Meanwhile, the latest estimate for California’s “bullet train,” is $98 billion (that’s $245 million per mile), thanks to construction delays, and design challenges including nearly 50 miles of tunnels through seismically active mountains to the north and south. And hardly anyone is going to ride it. Ridership won’t even pay operating costs. But Sacramento pushes ahead with this monstrous waste when that same money could (at the urban price of $10 million per mile) resurface and add a lane in each direction to 10,000 miles of California’s freeways. Imagine smooth, unclogged roads. It’s not impossible. It’s just policy priorities.

But while bad roads destroy the chassis of millions of cars and trucks, and commuters endure stop-and-go traffic year after year, the California High Speed Rail Authority dutifully pushes on. Why?

Because that’s what the government employee unions want. They don’t want roads, with all the flexibility and autonomy that roads offer. They want to create a gigantic high-speed rail empire, with tens of thousands of new public employees to drive the trains, maintain the trains, maintain the tracks, and provide security, running up staggering annual deficits. But all of them will be members of public sector unions.

3 – All rapid transit boondoggles:

In a handful of very dense urban areas around the U.S., fast intercity trains make economic sense. But most light rail schemes, along with laughably absurd “streetcar” schemes that actually block urban lanes sorely needed by vehicles, do not achieve levels of ridership that even begin to justify their construction when the alternative is using that money for better, wider connector roads and freeways. The impact of ride sharing apps, the advent of non-polluting cars, and the option of using buses to accomplish mass transit goals all speak to the superior versatility of roads over rail for urban transportation.

So why do California’s cities continue to poor billions into light rail and streetcars, when that money could be used to unclog the roads?

To reiterate: The public sector unions that run California want tens of thousands of new public employees to operate the trains and streetcars, maintain them, maintain the tracks, and provide security, running up staggering annual deficits. But doing this means that public sector union membership – hence public sector union power – will increase.

4 – CEQA reform so people can live closer to the jobs:

The median home value in the United States today is $202,700. The median home value in California today is $509,600, 2.5 times as much! There is no shortage of land in California, and the alleged shortages of energy and water are self-inflicted as the result of policies enacted by California’s state legislature. But instead of reforming California’s Environmental Quality Act, SB 375, AB 32, and countless other laws that have made building homes in California nearly impossible, California’s legislature is doubling down on more government solutions – primarily to subsidize either extremely high density housing, or subsidized housing for the economically disadvantaged, or both.

None of this is necessary. Outside of California’s major urban centers, there is no reason homes cannot be profitably built and sold at a median price of $202,700, and there is no reason the people living in those homes cannot drive or ride share to work on fast, unclogged freeways.

But California’s public sector unions want more regulations on home building, and they want more subsidized public housing. Because those solutions, even though inadequate and coercive, enable them to hire vast new bureaucracies to enforce the many regulations and administer the public assets. Unleashing the private sector to build affordable homes in a competitive market would rob these unions of their opportunity to acquire more power. It’s that simple.

5 – Insatiable appetite for pension fund contributions:

According to a California Policy Center study, taking barely adequate annual employer pension contributions into account, the average unionized state/local government worker in California makes over $120,000 per year in pay and benefits. But to adequately fund their promised pension benefits, employers will need to pay at least another $20,000 per employee to the pension funds. This funding gap, which equates to over $20 billion per year, is the additional amount that is required to cover the difference between how much California’s public employee pension funds currently collect from taxpayers, and how much they need to collect to keep the promises that union controlled politicians have made to the government unions they “negotiate” with. That is a best-case scenario.

It could be much worse. A 2016 California Policy Center analysis (ref. table 2-C) estimated that under a worst-case scenario, the annual costs to fund California’s public employee pension funds could cost taxpayers nearly $70 billion more per year than they are currently paying.

And by the way, California’s pension funds are themselves almost entirely under the control of public sector unions – research the background of CalPERS and CalSTRS board directors to verify the degree of influence they have. Absent significant reform, funding California’s public employee pensions is going to continue to consume every dollar in new taxes for the next several decades. The cumulative financial impact of funding these pensions is easily triple that of the bullet train’s $100 billion fiasco, probably much more.

Let’s not mince words. Government unions control California. They collect and spend over $1.0 billion every year, and spend most of that money on either explicit political campaigning and lobbying, or soft advocacy via expensive public relations campaigns and sponsored academic studies. Their presence is felt everywhere, from local transit districts to the governor’s office. They make or break politicians at will, by outspending or outlasting their opponents. At best, California’s most powerful corporate players do not cross these unions, often they collude with them.

California’s public sector unions operate as senior partners in a coalition that includes left-wing oligarchs especially in the Silicon Valley, extreme environmentalists and their powerful trial lawyer cohorts, and the Latino Legislative Caucus – usurped by leftist radicals – and their many allies in the social justice/identity politics industry. The power of this government union led coalition is nearly absolute, and the consequences to California’s private sector working class have been nothing short of devastating.

Government unions force California’s agencies to over-hire, overpay, and mismanage, because that benefits their members even as it harms the public. These unions enforce absurd policy priorities that further harm the public in order to increase their power. They are the reason California has increased its gas tax.

REFERENCES

Pump bump: California drivers to pay 12 cents more per gallon starting Wednesday – San Jose Mercury, Oct. 31, 2017
http://www.mercurynews.com/2017/10/31/pump-bump-california-drivers-to-pay-12-cents-more-per-gallon-starting-wednesday/

California’s gas tax increases Wednesday – Los Angeles Times, October 31, 2017
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-gas-tax-increase-political-battle-20171031-story.html

How much you’ll REALLY pay in gasoline tax in California – San Diego Union Tribune, Apr. 23, 2017
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/energy-green/sd-fi-california-gastax-20170413-story.html

What Californians Could Build Using the $64 Billion Bullet Train Budget – California Policy Center, Mar. 21, 2017
http://californiapolicycenter.org/what-californians-could-build-using-the-64-billion-bullet-train-budget/

American Road and Transportation Builders Association – FAQs, ref. “How much does it cost to build a mile of road?
https://www.artba.org/about/faq/

High-Speed Rail Delay More than Triples Planned Cost to San Jose – San Jose Inside, Oct. 2, 2017
http://www.sanjoseinside.com/2017/10/02/high-speed-rail-delay-more-than-triples-planned-cost-to-san-jose/

A 13.5-mile tunnel will make or break California’s bullet train – Los Angeles Times, Oct. 21, 2017
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-bullet-train-tunnel-20171021-story.html

California Environmental Quality Act – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Environmental_Quality_Act

State Senate bills aim to make homes more affordable, but they won’t spur nearly enough construction – Los Angeles Times, Aug. 11, 2017
http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-state-housing-deal-effects-20170811-htmlstory.html

California’s Public Sector Compensation Trends – California Policy Center, Jan. 2017
http://californiapolicycenter.org/californias-public-sector-compensation-trends/

What is the Average Pension for a Retired Government Worker in California? – California Policy Center, Mar. 2017
http://californiapolicycenter.org/what-is-the-average-pension-for-a-retired-government-worker-in-california/

The Coming Public Pension Apocalypse, and What to Do About It – California Policy Center, May 2016
http://californiapolicycenter.org/the-coming-public-pension-apocalypse/

State gas tax increase should be repealed

Marin Voice: State gas tax increase should be repealed


By Linda Pfeifer


POSTED: 05/13/17, 3:44 PM PDT |31 COMMENTS


In April, Sacramento politicians passed Senate Bill 1, the largest gas tax increase in California history. SB 1 also increased all vehicle registration fees.

Politicians passed SB 1 because they said California has an estimated $59 billion in deferred highway maintenance and approximately $79 billion in local streets repairs, and because better gas efficiencies have reduced gas tax revenues.

But what the public was not told is that since 2010, approximately $15 billion to $20 billion dollars in gas and transportation taxes and fees (e.g., truck weight fees) have been diverted away from California road repair. This doesn’t include the cap-and-trade dollars diverted for “high-speed rail” instead of road repair.

In fact, only about 20 percent of money in the state general fund generated by transportation revenues actually goes to road repair.

The diversion of transportation taxes and fees contradicts voters’ will. California voters passed Proposition 42 in 2002, Proposition 1A in 2006 and Proposition 22 in 2010, all protecting transportation revenues for road repair and maintenance. Unfortunately, the spirit of these propositions has not been honored in Sacramento, where billions were diverted away from road and highway maintenance.

Had these funds not been diverted, California would have had more than enough to maintain our highways and roads.

Instead of fixing a broken system, Marin representatives, Assemblyman Marc Levine and Senator Mike McGuire, joined their peers to pass SB 1, a bill so controversial and regressive against the middle class and lower-income earners that SB 1 only passed by one vote.

How hard does SB 1 hit the middle class and low income earners?

Example: $3.39 per gallon rises to $3.58 under SB 1, up 19 cents a gallon (12 cents plus another 7 cents with SB 1’s hidden gas excise tax provision). It’s higher for diesel fuel.

Even worse, SB 1 isn’t a “one-time” gas tax increase in 2017. Beginning in 2020, SB 1 raises gas taxes every single year, tied to inflation, forever ... in perpetuity ... ad infinitum. SB 1 has no sunset. After 2020, that 19-cent increase can grow higher and higher with inflation indefinitely.

Are you retired on a fixed income that hasn’t kept pace with inflation? Are you under-employed? Are you a renter or new homeowner? SB 1 just spiked your cost of living.

SB 1 is regressive, too, which means your middle-class wallet will pay the same gas tax as a billionaire.

SB 1 also raises annual car registration fees. For example, if your car registration is $271 per year, SB 1 could spike it to $321 per year, a $50 increase on average. For electric cars, that $271 rises to $371. It’s worse for trucks.

SB 1 is the highest gas tax in California history, and the people didn’t even get to vote on it. SB 1 had no public vote, no ballot statement to generate public debate and scrutiny. Instead, the politicians in Sacramento passed SB 1, and added last-minute “sweetheart” deals for swing-vote politicians to the tune of millions of dollars.

Now, in addition to paying the highest state car registration fees, highest state income tax and highest state sales tax in the country, Californians will be paying the highest state gas fees under SB 1.

How long before some of SB 1’s billions are diverted, too? How long before the next big tax? Already Sacramento is mulling a “service” tax (e.g., plumbers, consultants, electricians).

What can you do about it?

Plenty. First, go to NoCaGasTax.com and support the effort to repeal SB 1. Second, follow the website — HJTA.org — a lead fighter against SB 1. Third, join local taxpayer advocacy group Co$t Marin (CostMarin.org). It’s time to repeal SB 1 and stop burdening the middle class and lower-income earners.

Let’s stop diverting billions away from road repair. Demand fiscal accountability in Sacramento.

Linda Pfeifer is a former Sausalito City Council member and a member of Co$t Marin and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer’s Association.

State gas tax increase should be repealed

State gas tax increase should be repealed

By Linda Pfeifer



In April, Sacramento politicians passed Senate Bill 1, the largest gas tax increase in California history. SB 1 also increased all vehicle registration fees.

Politicians passed SB 1 because they said California has an estimated $59 billion in deferred highway maintenance and approximately $79 billion in local streets repairs, and because better gas efficiencies have reduced gas tax revenues.

But what the public was not told is that since 2010, approximately $15 billion to $20 billion dollars in gas and transportation taxes and fees (e.g., truck weight fees) have been diverted away from California road repair. This doesn’t include the cap-and-trade dollars diverted for “high-speed rail” instead of road repair.

In fact, only about 20 percent of money in the state general fund generated by transportation revenues actually goes to road repair.

The diversion of transportation taxes and fees contradicts voters’ will. California voters passed Proposition 42 in 2002, Proposition 1A in 2006 and Proposition 22 in 2010, all protecting transportation revenues for road repair and maintenance. Unfortunately, the spirit of these propositions has not been honored in Sacramento, where billions were diverted away from road and highway maintenance.

Had these funds not been diverted, California would have had more than enough to maintain our highways and roads.

Instead of fixing a broken system, Marin representatives, Assemblyman Marc Levine and Senator Mike McGuire, joined their peers to pass SB 1, a bill so controversial and regressive against the middle class and lower-income earners that SB 1 only passed by one vote.

How hard does SB 1 hit the middle class and low income earners?

Example: $3.39 per gallon rises to $3.58 under SB 1, up 19 cents a gallon (12 cents plus another 7 cents with SB 1’s hidden gas excise tax provision). It’s higher for diesel fuel.

Even worse, SB 1 isn’t a “one-time” gas tax increase in 2017. Beginning in 2020, SB 1 raises gas taxes every single year, tied to inflation, forever ... in perpetuity ... ad infinitum. SB 1 has no sunset. After 2020, that 19-cent increase can grow higher and higher with inflation indefinitely.

Are you retired on a fixed income that hasn’t kept pace with inflation? Are you under-employed? Are you a renter or new homeowner? SB 1 just spiked your cost of living.

SB 1 is regressive, too, which means your middle-class wallet will pay the same gas tax as a billionaire.

SB 1 also raises annual car registration fees. For example, if your car registration is $271 per year, SB 1 could spike it to $321 per year, a $50 increase on average. For electric cars, that $271 rises to $371. It’s worse for trucks.

SB 1 is the highest gas tax in California history, and the people didn’t even get to vote on it. SB 1 had no public vote, no ballot statement to generate public debate and scrutiny. Instead, the politicians in Sacramento passed SB 1, and added last-minute “sweetheart” deals for swing-vote politicians to the tune of millions of dollars.

Now, in addition to paying the highest state car registration fees, highest state income tax and highest state sales tax in the country, Californians will be paying the highest state gas fees under SB 1.

How long before some of SB 1’s billions are diverted, too? How long before the next big tax? Already Sacramento is mulling a “service” tax (e.g., plumbers, consultants, electricians).

What can you do about it?

Plenty. First, go to NoCaGasTax.com and support the effort to repeal SB 1. Second, follow the website — HJTA.org — a lead fighter against SB 1. Third, join local taxpayer advocacy group Co$t Marin (CostMarin.org). It’s time to repeal SB 1 and stop burdening the middle class and lower-income earners.

Let’s stop diverting billions away from road repair. Demand fiscal accountability in Sacramento.

Gov. Brown signs gas tax increases

Gov. Brown signs gas tax increases


BY TARYN LUNA

tluna@sacbee.com

Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday signed the controversial $52 billion tax and fee increase to pay for the largest road funding plan in California in more than a quarter century.

Senate Bill 1 raises the funds through a 12-cent gas tax increase that begins in November, a new fee based on vehicle value and other means over a decade to pay for road maintenance and repairs, public transit and other projects.

“Safe and smooth roads make California a better place to live and strengthen our economy,” Brown said in a statement. “This legislation will put thousands of people to work.”

The bill reached the governor’s desk after he and fellow Democrats negotiated side deals with lawmakers to hammer the bill through the Legislature with a two-thirds majority vote during a floor session that stretched late into the night on April 6. The sweeteners included nearly $1 billion in funding for special projects for districts in the Modesto and Riverside areas to convince wavering Democrats and one Republican to sign onto the plan.

A Republican radio host quickly pounced on the vote as a launching point to launch a recall of Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton. Carl DeMaio, who is leading the recall effort against Newman, said he’s targeting the lawmaker over the gas tax and to eliminate Democrats’ powerful majority in the Senate.


With 27 Democrats in the Senate and 55 in the Assembly, the party can at least in theory pass major tax bills without a single Republican vote. That’s not how it worked with the transportation bill. Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, refused to support the deal, prompting leaders to strike a deal with Sen. Anthony Cannella, R-Modesto, to cross party lines to vote for the tax increase.

The governor said the negotiations were an example of democracy and called suggestions that the side deals may be illegal “preposterous.”

Editor's Note:  State Senator Mike McGuire, Assemblyman Marc Levine voted Yes on this Tax Bill.  Virtually every local politician supported it. Damon Connolly wrote a Voice piece in the Marin IJ.  Why do they always "NEED" to raise our taxes for essentials like road but find plenty of money to hire consultants, fund their favorite causes and expand social services?   This bill will hurt low income people and businesses that rely on transportation the most.

Gas Taxes

Senate OKs 12-cent gas tax hike for road fixes

By Katy Murphy, Bay Area News Group

POSTED: 04/06/17, 8:55 PM PDT | UPDATED: 35 SECS AGO

0 COMMENTS

SACRAMENTO >> With one Republican vote, the California Senate narrowly mustered the support it needed to pass a $52 billion transportation package with a two-thirds vote, a proposal to fix California’s pothole-ridden roads and unstable bridges by hiking gas taxes and vehicle license fees.

It passed 27-11, and moved to the Assembly, where it also was expected to pass narrowly.

Democrats have Sen. Anthony Cannella to thank. The Republican from Ceres See MARIN IJ