Gas tax revenue grew by $1.75B since 2008 but road spending remained stagnant

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sep. 9, 2015

Contact: Amanda Smith (949-223-5037), Amanda.Smith@sen.ca.gov

New Gas Tax Analysis: In 6 Years Following Great Recession, Gas Tax Revenue Grew by $1.75 Billion; Road Spending Remained Stagnant

“Governor Brown’s transportation tax proposal is really a tax to replace road funds that were diverted to cover other budget priorities.” — State Senator John Moorlach

(Sacramento, CA) – A fresh review of post-recession California budget data revealed that California’s road spending remained stagnant at roughly $10 billion per year over the past six years, while revenues from gas and diesel taxes and fees grew from $6.9 billion to $8.7 billion.

With gas tax revenue up, the state has actually decreased its funding allocation to our roads by diverting those funds to other line-items,” said State Senator John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa) “Now we’re being told we have a road emergency, and we need to raise taxes.”

“The data is becoming clearer; Governor Brown’s transportation tax proposal is really a tax to replace road funds that were diverted to cover other budget priorities,” continued Moorlach. “California’s economy is already the highest taxed in the nation. You can only pluck so many feathers off this bird before it can’t fly anymore. Instead of raising taxes, maybe we ought to look at fixing the spending side.”

Last week, Governor Brown announced a set of taxes to raise $3.6 billion for his transportation plan, including a $65 increase in the car tax, $.06 increase in the gas tax, $.11 increase in diesel tax, $500 million from cap and trade funds and $100 million from Caltrans budget shifts.

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About Senator John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa):

State Senator John Moorlach represents the 37th District of California, is a trained Certified Financial Planner and is the only CPA in the California State Senate. He gained national attention 20 years ago when he was appointed Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector and helped the County recover from its bankruptcy filing – at the time the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. History.

Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.