Road Repair and Accountability Act (SB 1)

Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), officially known as the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, is the largest transportation investment in California history, and the first increase in the state excise tax on gasoline since 1994.

In the Bay Area, most of this money will be directed to cities, counties and public transit agencies to tackle the enormous backlog of maintenance and repairs for local streets, roads and transit systems. SB 1 money also will be available for new projects, including bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

We can summarize the Bay Area’s involvement, such as for some of the competitive programs, but others we don’t have any role in (like SHOPP or research).

Condensed Summary of Programs

SB 1 funds will be split 50/50 between a “Fix Local Streets and Transportation Infrastructure” and a “Fix State Highways and Transportation Infrastructure” component.

The 10-year forecast for the local portion, including new funding opportunities from statewide competitive programs, includes:

• $15 billion for local street and road repairs;
• $7.5 billion for public transportation improvements;
• $3 billion to enhance freight movement along trade corridors;
• $2.5 billion for multi-modal mobility improvements in congested corridors;
• $2 billion to support “self-help” counties in which voters have approved dedicated transportation sales taxes or uniform developer fees dedicated to transportation;
• $1 billion to improve bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure;
• $825 million for local contribution to State Transportation Improvement Program; and
• $250 million for local transportation planning grants.

Funding Programs

SB1 creates new and augments existing transportation funding programs. Most programs are managed by the State of California, though MTC has a role in some competitive programs. Additional information for selected competitive and formula programs are listed below.