SACRAMENTO, CA — CalChamber President and CEO Allan Zaremberg issued the following statement following tonight’s passage of SB 1:
“Fixing our roads and improving transportation in the state is critical to California’s economy and our job climate. SB 1 creates a user paid program that provides the long-term funding source necessary for capital improvements.
“The new revenue provided for in SB 1 will ensure that we do not continue down the path of further deterioration of our roads and bridges. Repairing roads now will be far cheaper than replacing them later.
“Californians drive more than 350 billion miles a year – more than any other state – yet California has not raised the gas tax in 23 years. The purchasing power of our existing gas tax is half of what it was in 1990s. This has created a $6 billion funding gap every year between what we can fix now and what we need to fix.
“We appreciate the Governor’s leadership on this critical issue for California’s economy and long term growth.”
The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) is the largest broad-based business advocate to government in California. Membership represents one-quarter of the private sector jobs in California and includes firms of all sizes and companies from every industry within the state. Leveraging our front-line knowledge of laws and regulations, we provide products and services to help businesses comply with both federal and state law. CalChamber, a not-for-profit organization with roots dating to 1890, promotes international trade and investment in order to stimulate California’s economy and create jobs. Please visit our website at www.calchamber.com
#####
