"Roads, some public facilities would be justified uses, as in history."Some roads would be justified, and Some public facilities would also be justified, but at this point, all ventures in this area should require voter approval at a high level, such as 2/3.
Some of these projects (the ones that aren't PORK) might be legitimate projects--but they should be funded at a local level. Unfortunately, for those pork-seekers, local projects generate more scrutiny and require 2/3 approval which they have not been successful passing. So, in come the Venture Capitalists spending $60 million on Proposition 39 to reduce the 2/3 approval requirement for
state projects. Voila! Now, instead of local communities taking care of their own areas and getting local approval, politicians are now proposing those projects at the state level--with bonds being paid off by the State's General Fund. The whole formula is just WRONG.
Regardless, the state's infrastructure is in such bad shape, I would vote in favor of a state-wide bond measure if it truly focused on improving roads and highways. Unfortunately, Prop 1B is not that proposal. It has very little to do with improving roads but includes a slew of non-infrastructure items (e.g. maintenance expenses, bus retrofits, etc.) that should be paid out of ongoing revenues, NOT bonds.