BOLD AGENDA FOR STATE (More details of the $222B plan emerge)

Chronical Sacramento Bureau ^ | 01-06-2006 | Greg Lucas, Lynda Gledhill

[Amerigomag]

$107 billion would be spent on transportation, most of it on highway projects. A $6 billion bond would be placed on the June 2006 ballot and another $6 billion bond on a later ballot. Of the $107 billion, $47 billion would be existing revenue the state is expected to receive between now and 2016 from gas taxes, federal matching funds and other sources.

Schwarzenegger banks on another $14 billion being generated over 10 years by requiring private entities, such as ports, to match state bond funds that benefit them. New truck-only toll lanes leading to and from ports and fees on cargo containers are envisioned under the plan.

The governor backs a $3 billion water bond for the June ballot, with one-third going for restoration of the state's aged levee system and other flood control projects. Another $6 billion bond would be sold during the last five years of his plan.

Schwarzenegger also would create a water-use fee that would impose a monthly $3 per household fee on water users, which the governor estimates will raise $5 billion over the next decade. Farmers and businesses would pay $10.

Over the next 10 years, the governor proposes bonds for construction and modernization of public schools totaling $26.3 billion. The first $7 billion would appear on the June 2006 ballot.

Under the governor's plan, $5.4 billion in bonds would be sold for college campus renovation and expansion. Two additional bonds, a $2.6 billion one for jails and $1.2 billion to renovate courthouses, are also proposed for the first five years of Schwarzenegger's plan.

The governor's plan also includes putting into the constitution a limit on how much the state can borrow at any one time (now at 4.5%). The limit would be 6 percent of the state's general fund revenue.

[Amerigomag]

$9B in general obligation bonds in June 2006. Toll roads, forced borrowing, user fees, and new water taxes soon to follow.

Pass the Wiener Schnitzel and Faschierter Braten.

[raftguide]

A tax is tax deductible, i.e., the government gets $1.00 but it only costs you $1.00 less your tax bracket. A fee is after tax and is not tax deductible. With a fee, the government gets a $1.00 but it costs you $1.00 plus your tax bracket. A movement to disallow the government to charge a fee (except for national park entrances)would be a very smart position to take, based on the cost of fees vs. taxes.

[goldstategop]

Color me skeptical any of these projects will ever get built. We don't even have improved freeways in California and now we're talking $222 billion for new infrastructure. Talk about eye-popping.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")