BILL NUMBER: SJR 24CHAPTERED BILL TEXT RESOLUTION CHAPTER 188 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 9, 2016 ADOPTED IN SENATE AUGUST 16, 2016 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2016 INTRODUCED BY Senator Beall AUGUST 2, 2016 Relative to federal transportation funding. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SJR 24, Beall. Federal transportation funding. This measure would urge Congress and the President of the United States to fully fund the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program at a level of $525 million in the 2017 fiscal year to provide additional critical investment in California and elsewhere, and to work together to finally find a long-term, sustainable funding solution to restore the lost purchasing power of the federal fuel excise tax, provide California and the rest of the country with the resources needed to rebuild its infrastructure, invest in its people through good, well-paying jobs, and restore our economy. WHEREAS, California's transportation infrastructure is aging and in serious need of repair with the state facing a $59 billion shortfall to bring the existing state highway system to a state of good repair over the next decade and with California cities and counties facing a $78 billion shortfall in restoring their own systems over the same period; and WHEREAS, California motorists spend $17 billion annually in extra maintenance and car repair bills, more than $700 per driver, due to the state's poorly maintained roads; and WHEREAS, Freight transportation is critical to the economic vitality of the United States and robust investment in safe and efficient transportation facilities and infrastructure is essential to promoting strong economic growth in California and throughout the nation; and WHEREAS, California has the most extensive, complex, and interconnected freight system in the country, including a system of seaports stretching from the City of Humboldt to the City of San Diego, six international land ports of entry along the United States-Mexico border, and a vast network of freight rail lines and truck routes which enable the state to serve as the nation's gateway to international trade; and WHEREAS, California's freight network moves 1.8 billion tons of goods, valued at more than $2 trillion, throughout the state, the vast majority of which travels to destinations beyond the state's borders; and WHEREAS, Freight shipments into, out of, and within California are projected to grow approximately 180 percent by the year 2040; and WHEREAS, California's freight system is responsible for the creation of 800,000 freight jobs and stimulates the creation of millions of other jobs throughout the economy; and WHEREAS, Expansion of public transportation is a key element of California's strategy to improve mobility while meeting critical greenhouse gas reduction targets, yet the California Transit Association reports that the state's public transit agencies face a 10-year $72 billion capital and operating shortfall; and WHEREAS, In December 2015, the United States Congress passed, and President Barack Obama signed, the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), which represents the first long-term federal transportation bill in more than a decade; and WHEREAS, The FAST Act provides California and other states with long-term certainty and stability in financing transportation projects by providing marginal increases in most existing highway and transit programs, as well as $2.1 billion annually in new freight investment; and WHEREAS, The FAST Act still falls short of the level of investment needed to rebuild California's and the nation's infrastructure because the United States Congress has not raised the federal fuel excise tax that traditionally has funded transportation since 1993, and meanwhile, the tax has lost more than 55 percent of its purchasing power and Congress has been unable to agree on an alternative to restore that funding gap; now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature commends Congress and the President of the United States for enacting the FAST Act to provide stability and reliability in federal transportation funding over the next five years; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature urges Congress and the President to fully fund the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program at a level of $525 million in the 2017 fiscal year to provide additional critical transportation investment in California and elsewhere; and be it further Resolved, That the Legislature urges Congress and the President to work together to finally find a long-term, sustainable funding solution to restore the lost purchasing power of the federal fuel excise tax, and provide California and the rest of the country with the resources needed to rebuild its infrastructure, invest in its people through good, well-paying jobs, and restore our economy; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.