This article is from Cal-Tax Digest, published
by the California Taxpayers' Association.
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Legislation to better plan and pay for California's growing needs for highways, libraries, college classrooms, water systems, parks and other public structures has been introduced, and that's good news for taxpayers.

There are countless reminders of how critically important this issue is to the California economy and qualify of life. It has been documented that hundreds of thousands of hours of productivity are lost when "freeway" gridlock turns a 30-mile drive to work into a 90-minute waste of time. Potholes can result in bone-jarring, dangerous drives across town. It also can hit close to home when a water main ruptures after many decades of use.

Cutting or repealing unnecessary taxes is welcome news for taxpayers, but there also must be focus on how government spends the taxpayers' dollars. What is it worth to arrive safety - and on time - to work, going over bridges that have been upgraded to withstand earthquakes? What is it worth to turn on the faucet and get water that can be safely swallowed? What is it worth to have college classrooms and good, clean parks?

This year there appears to be greater effort and resolve in the state Legislature and the governor's office to deal with the huge problem that is the state's growing needs for more and better infrastructure, a four-syllable bureaucratic term for public works facilities. Without them, life as we know it would be difficult or impossible to maintain.

Thus it was with a great deal of fanfare that Senators Bruce McPherson and Steve Peace and Assemblyman Robert Hertzberg announced the introductions of Senate Constitutional Amendment 9 and Assembly Bill 1473.

Sponsored by the California Business Roundtable and supported by a coalition that includes the California Taxpayers' Association, labor, environmental and local government organizations, this legislation will encourage important public debate about financing the state's infrastructure in ways that make sense.

As introduced, these measures do not propose higher taxes. Instead, they seek more intelligent use of existing tax dollars to help meet enormous needs - as much as $90 billion over the next decade to build facilities to accommodate a growing population.

This legislative effort, at some point, could join hands with another major thrust toward infrastructure improvements flowing from the Executive Branch of government: Governor Gray Davis' new Commission on Building for the 21st Century, which was appointed in mid-March to study needs and recommend solutions. It is co-chaired by Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante and Maria Contreras-Sweet, secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency.

Cal-Tax enthusiastically supports improvements in long-term infrastructure planning, which the legislation would require. Each year, the governor would have to issue a new three-year capital expenditure plan, according to Mr. Hertzberg's proposal.

The costs are so substantial that California cannot afford to continue with anything less than a well-planned, cost-effective program.

Larry McCarthy

 The constitutional amendment authored by Senators Peace and McPherson would allow the infrastructure dedication of one-quarter cent of the existing six-cents-on-the-dollar state sales tax. This would be part of a financing program drawing from many sources, including bonds and use of the state's infrastructure bank, to help pay the way.

Last year, Cal-Tax supported Proposition 1A, the successful $9.2-billion school bond on the November ballot, backing it with greater energy and enthusiasm than any bond measure in memory. There were three reasons for such a high level of support: The measure underscored school construction as a higher priority for state general fund spending, as the bonds will be repaid by the state general fund; it improved long-term planning for schools, with a multi-year plan, and it included cost-containment measures to stretch taxpayer dollars.

The constitutional amendment and bill introduced in this new session of the Legislature, with solid policy analysis and commitment of support from the business community and others, is moving in the same direction as Proposition 1A.

That is excellent news for taxpayers who expect value in return for the billions of dollars that must be spent on that four-syllable word that translates into growth in jobs and quality of life. Without proper infrastructure, employers will look elsewhere. Good jobs will be harder to find. California cannot prosper.

- Larry McCarthy is president of the California Taxpayers' Association (Cal-Tax).