ATSSA Signal Sept/Oct 2018

The Signal | Sept/Oct 2018 7 Government Relations Advocating for roadway safety infrastructure investment in California State Sen. Jim Beall of California’s 15th district, chair of the Senate Trans- portation Committee and a champion for infrastructure investment, has been working with ATSSA on the state level, advocating for funding and policies that advance roadway safety. In the 2017 legislative session, Beall was the lead author of SB1, a bill that would provide billions in funding each year for infrastructure repair and maintenance. “SB1 provides $5.2 billion annually for repairs, safety, maintenance, and up- grades of state and local government roads, tunnels, bridges, culverts, over- passes, and also invests in mass transit. It will make our 353,000 lane miles of state, county, and city roads safer through maintenance and repairs,” said Beall. Beall stated that the $5.2 billion would be generated each year through a gas excise tax, a diesel fuel sales tax increase, a fee for electric vehicles, and a vehicle road maintenance fee for California driv- ers. It would help eliminate deferred in- frastructure maintenance costs in Cali- fornia within ten years, said Beall. The bill was met with contention and is now going through an “initiative process,” according to Beall, where the legislation will be on a ballot for referendum this November. If themeasure is voted down, it can also limit the legislature’s author- ity to propose funding for safety infra- structure investment in the future. “Without sufficient ongoing funding, it means accomplishing a reduction [in the maintenance backlog] will cost more in the future... pretty soon it gets so ex- pensive that we will never eliminate the backlog… and it will lead to more inju- ries and deaths on California’s roads,” said Beall. Aside from SB1, Beall sees that the fu- ture of roadwaymaintenance innovation is an important factor for both safety and the economy in California. He said that funds have been allocated to state universities for research on pavement markings, roadway safety, and Vehicle- to-Infrastructure [V2I] technology. “All of that [technology] will make our roads function better and be safer,” said Beall, whose district includes Silicon Valley. The California Chapter of ATSSA held a state-level advocacy day in July 2017, which Beall felt was an effective way to share the importance of roadway safety infrastructure with legislators. “I think it has a positive impact on the legislators, and it makes them think a bit more longer term. And getting in- formation about their safety recom- mendations and directions I think helps the legislature get in the right mindset to think about the future, and the di- rection we should take to make the roads safer. So, it’s very important to have the experts come visit the legis- lators,” said Beall. Without sufficient ongoing funding, it means accomplishing a reduction [in the maintenance backlog] will cost more in the future... pretty soon it gets so expensive that we will never eliminate the backlog and it will lead to more injuries and deaths on California’s roads. Sen. Beall (D-Ca.) was the lead patron of SB1, legisla- tion that would fund much needed maintenance and repair of California’s infrastructure.