Say Yes to Prop. 42

Without raising one dollar of additional tax, Proposition 42 on the March 5 ballot would provide more stable, ongoing funding for California highways, public transit and street maintenance. It would help make our roads safer and relieve congestion by using the existing gasoline sales tax to help solve the state’s transportation problems.

L.A. is the nation’s most congested urban area and has the highest percentage of deteriorated roads in the U.S. To say the transportation needs here are huge is an understatement. Proposition 42 would help deliver desperately needed revenue for fixing roads and expediting projects such as rebuilding freeways, extending commuter rail lines and improving bus service and operations. Speeding up transportation projects would create thousands of jobs. The measure would neither harm the economy nor slow its recovery by demanding that government spend more. It would make use of existing revenue--the gasoline sales tax. There would be no new tax or fee.

Although Proposition 42 would provide badly needed relief for commuters, it represents a modest 1% of the state budget. It also would provide strong accountability. An annual audit of Proposition 42 funds would be required to guarantee that transportation projects were delivered on time and on budget.

This oversight would ensure that our taxes were used efficiently to generate the greatest results.