Artesia, CA — (April 7, 2017) – Landmark legislation passed for California transportation funding SB-1, The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, was passed April 6 in Sacramento to rejuvenate the transportation construction environment in California for the next 10 years. It will provide more than $5 billion annually for repairing California’s crumbling system of streets, highways and bridges, and mass transit.

Based on numerous studies, which estimated that as many as 13,000 new jobs are created for every $1 billion spent on highway infrastructure, this should result in more than 65,000 jobs annually. This includes direct jobs for construction as well as indirect jobs created by suppliers and induced jobs gained in the local economies by those jobs.

The legislation was long in coming, as our roads and highways deteriorated without adequate funding for maintenance and repair. This transportation package is funded by varied fuel tax and vehicle fees with every type of driver contributing — from gas and electric cars to trucks — in short, all persons who benefit from a sound transportation system will pay.

John Hakel, Executive Director at Southern California Partnership for Jobs notes:

We at Southern California Partnership for Jobs have held extensive meeting schedules these past several months with our state legislators to explain the need for transportation infrastructure funding, and the benefits in terms of jobs. We provided regular educational emails and social media outreach to a growing number of persons interested in our mission. We contributed over $650,000 of our members’ funding to an intense advocacy effort in recent weeks. Given our mission “to advocate for and educate the public and all stakeholders of the critical need to invest continuously in our infrastructure” we are pleased with the success of this funding initiative.

From a statewide perspective, Southern California Partnership for Jobs worked in concert with Fix Our Roads Coalition to present a clear statewide measure on the need for the passage of SB-1. However, this does not mean our job is complete. There is a continuing need for investment and funding for transportation at all levels of our region. The need to ensure that the monies allocated are in fact spent, and spent wisely, means Southern California Partnership for Jobs’ work will aggressively continue.

In closing, the Trustees of Southern California Partnership for Jobs would like to thank Governor Brown, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon and Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, who together led this effort, as well as all the legislators who supported this package. The passage of SB-1 guarantees a new face for our aging infrastructure, along with numerous good paying jobs.

About Southern California Partnership for Jobs

The Southern California Partnership for Jobs (SCPFJ) is a partnership between organized labor and construction management that represents more than 2,750 construction firms that employ more than 90,000 union workers in the 12 counties of Southern California.

The Partnership advocates responsible investment in public infrastructure projects to help fix Southern California’s aging transportation, water, sewer and storm drain systems, while building for our future needs and economic growth.

Additional information can be found at: http://www.rebuildsocal.org

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