California Repeal Gas Tax and Fees Increase Bill Initiative (2018)

California Repeal Gas Tax and Fees Increase Bill Initiative
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Taxes and Transportation
Status Not on the ballot
Type State statute	Origin Citizens
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The California Repeal Gas Tax and Fees Increase Bill Initiative (#17-0004) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated state statute on November 6, 2018.

Although this initiative did not qualify for the ballot, another initiative to repeal the gas tax increase and to require voter approval of future gas and vehicle taxes did qualify for the ballot as Proposition 6. To read about the initiative that was on the ballot click here.

The measure would have repealed most sections of Senate Bill 1 (2017), which increased the gas tax by $0.12 per gallon, increased the diesel fuel tax by $0.20 per gallon, increased the sales tax on diesel fuels by an additional 4 percentage points, created an annual transportation improvement fee, and created an annual zero-emission vehicles fee.

The California Senate Appropriations Committee estimated that Senate Bill 1 would generate $52.4 billion between 2017 and 2027. The bill was designed to allocate revenue from the increases to transportation-related projects. The California State Legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the ballot for the election on June 5, 2018, designed to create a constitutional requirement that revenue from fees and taxes on vehicles or their operation be used for transportation-related projects. This proposed initiative would have impacted Senate Bill 1, but not the constitutional amendment.

Asm. Travis Allen (R-72), a candidate for governor in 2018, was the sponsor of the initiative.

The initiative did not make the ballot, failing to collect enough valid signatures. Asm. Allen said he would support a different ballot initiative, started by Reform California, to repeal the gas tax and fees increase.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

Eliminates Recently Enacted Road Repair and Transportation Funding by Repealing Revenues Dedicated for those Purposes. Initiative Statute.

”

Petition summary

The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:

“

Eliminates recently enacted state and local transportation funding for repair and maintenance of streets, highways, bridges, safety projects, and public transportation by repealing portions of the tax on gasoline ($0.12 per gallon) and diesel fuel ($0.20 per gallon), sales and excise taxes on diesel fuel (4% per gallon), vehicle registration fees ($25-$175, depending on vehicle value), and $100 zero-emission vehicle fee. Eliminates Independent Office of Audits and Investigations, which is responsible for ensuring accountability in the use of revenue for transportation projects.

”

Fiscal impact

Note: The fiscal impact statement for a California ballot initiative authorized for circulation is prepared by the state's legislative analyst and director of finance.

The fiscal impact statement was as follows:

“

Reduced annual state transportation revenues of $2.9 billion in 2018-19, increasing to $4.9 billion annually by 2020-21. These revenues would otherwise primarily support state highway maintenance and rehabilitation, local streets and roads, and mass transit.

”

Full text

The full text of the measure is available here.

Support

Repeal the Gas Tax led the campaign in support of the initiative. Asm. Travis Allen (R-72) started the campaign.

Arguments

Asm. Travis Allen (R-72) explained his reason for filing the initiative, saying:

“

Jerry Brown’s decision to push through the largest gas tax increase in California’s history without the approval of voters demonstrated a complete disregard for ordinary Californians. This ballot initiative will correct Brown’s failure and allow the people of California to decide for themselves if they want to raise their taxes.

”

Opposition

Arguments

Fix Our Roads, the coalition that backed Senate Bill 1, issued a statement in response to the initiative's filing, saying:

“

Californians are tired of driving on potholed, unsafe roads, stuck in traffic. Voters strongly support additional funding to fix our state and local transportation infrastructure. It’s hard to view this initiative as anything more than the same old obstructionist politics that Californians are tired of.

”

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Between September 28, 2017, and October 1, 2017, Probolsky Research surveyed 1,000 residents of California on the Repeal Gas Tax and Fees Increase Bill Initiative. The question asked to respondents was:

“

In November 2018, you will have the opportunity to vote on a California ballot measure that will read, “Repeals recently enacted gas and diesel taxes and vehicle registration fees. Eliminates road repair and transportation programs funded by these taxes and fees.” If the election were held today, would you vote YES in favor of the ballot measure or NO to oppose the ballot measure?

”

Probolsky Research found that 34.8 percent of respondents supported and 53.9 percent opposed the initiative. Of the variables the research firm examined, the only group with majority support for the initiative was Republicans. Republicans supported the initiative 52 to 41 percent. Around 26 percent of Democrats supported the initiative. Respondents who affiliated with neither the Republicans or Democrat, or refused to state their party affiliation, supported the initiative at a rate of 33 percent.

California Repeal Gas Tax and Fees Increase Bill Initiative (2018)
Poll	Support	Oppose	Undecided	Refused	Margin of error	Sample size
Probolsky Research 9/28/2017 - 10/01/2017	34.8%	53.9%	10.1%	1.2%	+/-3.2	1,000
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Related polling

Note: The polls shown below were not specific to this initiative. Rather, they asked about the gas tax bill—SB 19—more generally, making the results relevant but not a direct poll on this initiative.

USC Dornsife and the Los Angeles Times polled registered voters on whether to keep or repeal Senate Bill 1 (SB 1). The first poll was conducted in October and November 2017 and indicated that 46 percent wanted to keep and 54 percent wanted to repeal SB 1. The bill had the support of 55 percent of Democrats, 50 percent of independents, and 25 percent of Republicans. The second poll was conducted in April and May 2018 and estimated that 38 percent wanted to keep and 51 percent wanted to repeal the tax increase. The bill had the support of 49 percent of Democrats, 43 percent of independents, and 12 percent of Republicans.

California Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017
Poll	Keep	Repeal	Undecided	Margin of error	Sample size
USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times 4/18/2018 - 5/18/2018	38.0%	51.0%	11.0%	+/-4.0	691
USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times 10/27/2017 - 11/06/2017	46.0%	54.0%	0.0%	+/-4.0	1,504
AVERAGES	42%	52.5%	5.5%	+/-4	1,097.5
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Senate Bill 1

California State Legislature

Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), also known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, was passed on April 6, 2017. The California State Senate voted 27 to 11 with two members not voting; 27 votes were required to pass the bill. Democrats controlled 27 seats in the state Senate. Sen. Steve Glazer (D-7) joined Republicans in opposing SB 1, but Sen. Anthony Cannella (R-12) joined Democrats in passing the bill, allowing the bill to pass with 27 votes. The California State Assembly voted 54 to 26 to pass the legislation; 54 votes were required. Democrats controlled 55 seats in the state Assembly. One Democrat, Rep. Rudy Salas (D-32), joined Republicans in opposing the bill, leaving Democrats with 54 votes needed to pass SB 1. Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed the legislation into law on April 28, 2017.

Vote in the California State Senate April 6, 2017
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 27  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	27	11	2
Total percent	67.50%	27.50%	5.00%
Democrat	26	1	0
Republican	1	10	2

Vote in the California State Assembly April 6, 2017
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 54  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	54	26	0
Total percent	67.50%	32.50%	0.00%
Democrat	54	1	0
Republican	0	25	0

Revenue

SB 1 increased the following transportation-related taxes and fees on November 1, 2017:

• Increased the gas tax $0.12 cents per gallon, from $0.297 cents per gallon to $0.417 cents per gallon.
• Increased the diesel fuel tax $0.20 cents per gallon, from $0.16 cents per gallon to $0.36 cents per gallon.
• Increased the sales tax on diesel fuels by an additional 4 percentage points, from 9 percent to 13 percent.

SB 1 created a new annual Transportation Improvement Fee (TIF) based on the market value of a vehicle. The fee went into effect on January 1, 2018. The fee rate was scheduled as follows:

• $25 per year for vehicles with a market value of $0-$4,999;
• $50 per year for vehicles with a market value of $5,000-$24,999;
• $100 per year for vehicles with a market value of $25,000-$34,999;
• $150 per year for vehicles with a market value of $35,000-$59,999; and
• $200 per year for vehicles with a market value of $60,000 or higher.

SB 1 enacted an annual $100 per vehicle fee for owners of zero-emission vehicles (ZEV) model years 2020 or later starting in 2020.

Other than the diesel sales tax, SB 1 was designed to adjust the tax and fee rates based on annual changes in the California Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Funds

According to the California Senate Appropriations Committee, SB 1 was expected to generate an estimated $5.2 billion a year or $52.4 billion between 2017 and 2027.

Diagram from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office on SB 1's revenue sources and appropriations.

Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program

SB 1 created the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program (RMRP), which was expected to receive an estimated $3.24 billion a year. The RMRP was designed to receive revenue from the gasoline excise tax, excluding revenue from gasoline for off-road vehicles, half of the diesel excise tax ($0.10), the zero-emission vehicles fee, and revenue over $600 million from the Transportation Improvement Fee. The bill required RMRA funds to be distributed as follows:

• $400 million to maintain and repair state bridges and culverts;
• $200 million to counties with voter-approved taxes and fees for transportation improvements;
• $100 million to the Active Transportation Program, which is tasked with bicycling and pedestrian improvement projects;
• $25 million to the freeway service patrol program to remove disabled vehicles from freeways;
• $25 million for local and regional transportation planning grants; and
• $7 million for transportation research;
• $5 million for transportation-related workforce education, training, and development.

Following the distribution of the $762 million in revenue listed above, the remaining $2.48 million in estimated RMRP funds would be divided 50-50 between maintenance of the state highway system and maintenance of local streets.

Trade Corridor Enhancement Account

SB 1 was designed to deposit half of the diesel excise tax ($0.10) into the Trade Corridor Enhancement Account (TCEA) to fund corridor-based freight projects. TCEA was expected to receive an estimated $310 million per year.

Solutions for Congested Corridors Program

The Solutions for Congested Corridors Program (SCCP) was designed to receive $250 million per year from the Transportation Improvement Fee. SB 1 required SCCP to distribute funds to projects that address transportation, environmental, and community access improvements within highly congested-travel corridors throughout the state.

Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program

SB 1 provided the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program (TIRCP) with 70 percent of $350 million from the Transportation Improvement Fee. TIRCP was a competitive grant program that awards funding for transit and rail capital projects.

State Transit Assistance Program

SB 1 was designed to provide the State Transit Assistance Program (STAP) with 30 percent of $350 million from the Transportation Improvement Fee and 87.5 percent of the revenue from the diesel sales tax for about $430 million a year. STAP provided funding for transit operators.

Intercity and Commuter Rail

SB 1 created a new stream of revenue for intercity rail operations and projects from 12.5 percent of the diesel sales revenue tax for a total of about $44 million per year.

Department of Parks and Recreation and Department of Food and Agriculture

The bill was designed to distribute revenue from the gas tax increase received from off-highway vehicles and boats to the state Department of Parks and Recreation and revenue from the gas tax increase received from agricultural vehicles to the state Department of Food and Agriculture.

Reactions

Democratic leadership

• Gov. Jerry Brown (D), upon signing the bill, said, "Safe and smooth roads make California a better place to live and strengthen our economy. This legislation will put thousands of people to work."
• Senate President Kevin de León (D-24) praised the legislation, saying, "Today, after decades of inaction, the legislature approved a fiscally responsible plan to address our decrepit transportation infrastructure. This bipartisan compromise includes strict accountability measures and closes our massive transportation funding shortfalls — without burdening future generations with debt."
• Speaker of the Assembly Anthony Rendon (D-63) stated, "Supporting SB 1 required a combination of common sense, political courage, and concern for the Californians who drive on our roads and bridges."

Republican leadership

• Assembly Minority Leader Chad Mayes (R-42), critical of the bill, stated, "Gov. Brown and Capitol Democrats just gave us the largest gas tax increase in state history — a deal so bad they needed $1 billion in pork to buy the votes to pass it. California deserves better."
• Senate Minority Leader Patricia Bates (R-36) said, "It didn't have to be this way. Senate Republicans put forth our own transportation plan that would have provided $7.8 billion for our crumbling roads without raising taxes. Instead, drivers will be paying more to fund not just road repairs that could have been paid for with existing dollars, but also other projects such as bike trails and potentially high-speed rail. Californians deserve better."
• Senate Minority Caucus Chair Tom Berryhill (R-8) said, "A few weeks ago, Sacramento politicians went into a backroom to cook up a sharp increase in vehicle registration fees and the largest gas tax increase in state history, sticking it to working-class Californians and just about everyone living outside of the Bay Area or Los Angeles. Gas taxes disproportionately hurt lower-income drivers, who have less money to spend on more expensive gas."

Josh Newman recall

See also: Josh Newman recall, California State Senate (2017)

The vote on Senate Bill 1 led to a recall attempt against Sen. Josh Newman (D-29). He was elected to represent District 29 in 2016, when he defeated Republican Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang by 2,498 votes. The recall attempt was launched on April 19, 2017. Supporters of the recall effort needed to collect 63,593 signatures by October 16, 2017, to move the recall forward. On August 18, 2017, The Sacramento Bee reported that enough valid signatures had been collected for the recall to move to the election phase. On January 8, 2018, the governor announced a recall election for June 5, 2018.

The recall effort was initiated by talk radio host and former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio (R).

Path to the ballot

Asm. Travis Allen (R-72) filed the initiative.

See also: California signature requirements and Laws governing the initiative process in California

In California, the number of signatures needed to qualify a measure for the ballot is based on the total number of votes cast for the office of governor. For an initiated state statute, petitioners must collect signatures equal to 5 percent of the most recent gubernatorial vote. To get a measure on the 2018 ballot, the number of signatures required was 365,880. In California, initiatives can be circulated for 180 days. Signatures needed to be certified at least 131 days before the 2018 general election, which was around June 28, 2018. As the signature verification process can take several weeks, the California secretary of state issues suggested deadlines for several months before the certification deadline.

On May 4, 2017, Asm. Travis Allen (R-72) filed the initiative to repeal most sections of Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) of 2017, which increased the gas tax and diesel tax and created two new fees. Asm. Allen opposed SB 1 in the state legislature.

Asm. Allen had to file the repeal as an initiated state statute, rather than a veto referendum, as a referendum cannot be filed against tax levies. Getting a veto referendum certified for the ballot would have allowed supporters to put SB 1 on hold until the election, whereas getting an initiative certified would not have that effect.

A title and summary were issued by the California attorney general's office on July 10, 2017. Proponents of the initiative were given permission to begin collecting signatures. Signatures were due on January 8, 2018.

Asm. Allen criticized the ballot language, saying that almost everything in the text would mislead voters. He stated that he would sue the state over the language. Asm. Allen said his campaign "will wait to win in court and then we will be gathering signatures up and down the state." He added, "We’re going to challenge it in Superior Court. Gov. Brown’s attorney general has issued a misleading title and summary."

The initiative failed to make the ballot. Asm. Allen, the sponsor, stated, "Unfortunately, the attorney general, through his political maneuvering, was able to stall the repeal of the gas tax and put us in a legal catch-22 that ran down the clock for our signature gathering."

Allen v. Becerra

  

Lawsuit overview
Issue: Ballot language; whether the ballot title and summary written by the state attorney general are misleading.
Court: Superior Court of Sacramento County and California Third District Court of Appeal (Appealed to California Supreme Court but declined)
Ruling: Ruled in favor of defendant; the language provides a neutral presentation of the initiative's effects on taxes and revenue (Appealed and declined)
Plaintiff(s): Asm. Travis Allen	Defendant(s): Attorney General Xavier Becerra
Plaintiff argument: The ballot language would mislead voters. According to Asm. Allen, the language does not mention the words tax or fee, makes presumptions for which there are no legal requirements, and mentions the elimination of an office that does not preexist SB 1.	Defendant argument: The ballot language clearly explains the initiative and its effects.

  Source: Los Angeles Times

On July 14, 2017, Asm. Travis Allen (R-72) sued Attorney General Xavier Becerra (R) in the Superior Court of Sacramento County. Asm. Allen said the ballot title and summary that Attorney General Becerra wrote for the ballot initiative would mislead voters. He stated, "Jerry Brown’s appointed Attorney General is attempting to deceive California’s voters with a misleading title and summary for the Repeal the Gas Tax ballot initiative. Californians have a right to an honest description of the initiative, and we have filed a lawsuit today in Superior Court to make sure voters get the transparency they deserve." Asm. Allen said the ballot language was misleading for the following reasons:

• the ballot title does not "even mention the word 'tax' or 'fee', and completely fails to reflect the principal purpose of the initiative;"
• the ballot summary says the initiative would eliminate the Independent Office of Audits and Investigations, which does not preexist SB 1; and
• the ballot summary "presumes that the tax will be used solely on transportation projects when there is no such legal requirement in SB 1."

A spokesperson for Attorney General Becerra responded to the litigation, saying the ballot language clearly explained the initiative.

On September 19, 2017, Judge Timothy M. Frawley issued a preliminary ruling. Judge Frawley said the ballot language crafted by Attorney General Becerra was "confusing, misleading, and likely to create prejudice against the proposed measure." He also stated, "To avoid misleading the voters and creating prejudice against the measure, the Attorney General must prepare a 'true and impartial statement’ that reasonably informs voters of the character and real purpose of the proposed initiative in clear and understandable language. The existing circulating title and summary fails this test." Judge Frawley decided that he would write a new ballot title and summary for the initiative, as Asm. Allen's and Attorney General Becerra's lawyers could not agree on a compromise.

On September 25, 2017, Judge Frawley provided his revised ballot title and summary.

Judge Frawley revised the ballot title to say

"Repeals recently enacted gas and diesel taxes and vehicle registration fees. Eliminates road repair and transportation programs funded by these taxes and fees."

instead of

"Eliminates Recently Enacted Road Repair and Transportation Funding by Repealing Revenues Dedicated for those Purposes."

He also amended the ballot summary of the initiative to specify that the Independent Office of Audits and Investigations, which would be eliminated by the initiative, was "newly established."

In mid-October 2017, Attorney General Xavier Becerra appealed the ruling to the California Third District Court of Appeal. On November 17, 2017, the court ruled in a 3-0 decision that Becerra's ballot language was a neutral presentation of the initiative's effects on taxes and revenue. The ruling said that state law provided the attorney general with considerable latitude in writing the ballot language.

Benjamin Pugh, a lawyer representing Asm. Allen, said proponents appealed the ruling to the California Supreme Court. He stated, "These three justices are apparently the only three people in the state that think the attorney general’s language complies with the statute." In December 2017, the state Supreme Court decided not to hear the case. Asm. Alllen, in response to the court's action, said, "The California Supreme Court has made a mockery of justice and brazenly endorsed AG Xavier Becerra’s outright deception of Californians, robbing Californians of honest ballot title and summaries not only for the Gas Tax Repeal, but for every initiative that we vote on."

See also

• 2018 ballot measures
• California 2018 ballot propositions
• California ballot measures
• California Transportation Taxes and Fees Lockbox and Appropriations Limit Exemption Amendment (June 2018)
• Josh Newman recall, California State Senate (2017)