Californians are not enthusiastic about the gas tax hike that went into effect this year. A new USC Dornslife/L.A. Times Poll shows that only 38-percent of California voters would support the gas tax measure if they were voting today.
But getting it repealed is going to be an uphill slog because of the interests in favor of keeping it intact, according to Spencer Chretien, manager of state policy for Citizens Against Government Waste.
“You’re going to have Tom Steyer spending a lot of money. You’re going to have Governor Brown demonize the issue. You’re going to probably have Gavin Newsom and Nancy Pelosi and Dianne Feinstein throw their resources into keeping the gas tax this high, so there will be a lot of money spent by the other side.”
He says the gas tax increase reflects the high cost of keeping the roads in shape in the Golden State.
“The state spends much more than its neighbors on per-mile road maintenance. One of the reasons is that you have a prevailing wage law. You have burdensome requirements on the contractors who build roads, so that drives up the costs. The environmental regulations are much more significant. It’s anywhere between two and a half times more expensive than Arizona and Nevada to four times as expensive per mile – depending on the year – that California spends. So, you’re not getting a good bang for your buck.”
Spencer Chretien was a guest on McIntyre in the Morning.
By Sandy Wells
KABC News
