Cities, Counties Urge Transportation Spending

The League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties say California needs to dedicate $6 billion a year for 10 years to road maintenance. And they say local governments should get half. The groups released their priorities for the special legislative session on transportation today.

The groups say a range of options could be used to raise the money, including an increased gas tax, higher vehicle registration fees and user charges for electric cars.

The Association's Matt Cate says he knows some of those options may not be popular.

"But at the end of the day we can’t live with crumbling streets and roads and bridges that aren’t safe for our kids and for our families to cross," he says.

Cate says cities and counties maintain 80 percent of the state’s road miles, but only receive a third of the state’s transportation revenue.

The state has a deferred maintenance backlog worth $59 billion. The bill for cities and counties totals $78 billion.