California Senate passes 12-cent gas tax hike; passage in Assembly expected
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 now moves to the Assembly, where it also expected to pass narrowly.
Democrats have Sen. Anthony Cannella to thank. The Republican from Ceres in the Central Valley had said previously that he would support the package if the state supported the extension of the Altamont Corridor Express to Ceres and Merced. And that is exactly what he would get under amendments to a separate bill, SB 132, which went into print Thursday. The bill amends the Budget Act of 2016 to include $400,000 for the project.
Cannella voted for the gas tax — while Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, did not.
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It was sold as a road tax even though the last road tax money went into the general funds AND it is also a tax on marine fuel, which last time I looked doesn’t even use roads!