Get ready for a big battle this fall over last year’s transportation funding law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown. As expected, an effort backed by conservatives to repeal the law’s fuel tax and vehicle fee increases has qualified for the November ballot.
From the moment legislative Democrats and one Republican sent the governor the road repair funding measure called SB 1 last year, other Republicans and anti-tax advocates have vowed to fight it, and fight it hard.
They started by leveraging the vote of southern California state Sen. Josh Newman into a successful recall campaign that flipped a Democratic seat to a Republican earlier this month. Now, they’re hoping to turn it into a potent campaign issue this fall, boosting GOP voter turnout to help save the party’s congressional seats.
The initiative, however, doesn’t just repeal the gas tax and vehicle fee increases, which raise billions of dollars a year for road and highway repairs and public transportation. It also requires voter approval for any future state transportation taxes.
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