After thoughtful deliberation I supported SB 1 to ensure that California’s economy remains the strongest in the nation. SB 1 will bring $205 million to our community (San Bernardino, Rialto, Colton, Grand Terrace, Fontana, and the unincorporated areas of Bloomington and Muscoy) over the next 2-5 years for road, bridge and other transportation improvements.
Our state’s transportation needs have reached a critical point where a failure to act would inflict harm on our economy. Further inaction, especially with the transportation needs of the Inland Empire, would have been irresponsible. California’s transportation demands have increased while transportation funding hasn’t increased in 23 years, creating an annual need of $8 billion for maintenance with only $2.2 billion to pay for it. Without this critical funding our community faced a delay of 8-10 years for basic road and bridge maintenance, a wait that would have further crippled the Inland Empire and the state.
A critical part of this monumental investment was the concurrent passage of Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5, which provides oversight and accountability of the projects funded by SB 1. This includes provisions to guarantee that state and local government are held accountable for every transportation dollar, ensuring they go back into our streets and roads.
The decisions necessary to keep our state prosperous are never easy, but as your elected official I will always make the tough decisions for the betterment of our community. SB 1 will bring us direct investment and good wage jobs that are desperately needed.