$37.3 billion bond goes to Gov. (Daily Bulletin 050706) A Record Sized Public Works Bill Will Appear Before Voters In NOV.

All that we hear about is this RECORD bond that is getting ready to go before the boters on June 6th. Arnold Really wants it to pass so he can get the people in California working again.

All I have to say is good luck!!

BSRancher...

$37.3 billion bond goes to Gov.

Staff and wire reports

SACRAMENTO - A record public works bond will appear before voters in November after state lawmakers approved a series of bills in the pre-dawn hours Friday. A similar proposal had broad public support but failed to pass the Legislature earlier this year. The $37.3 billion package would be the largest bond issue in California history and now goes to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The governor, who proposed an even larger spending plan in January, called the votes in each house "a landmark accomplishment that will yield benefits for generations to come." "For the first time in a generation, we are making a real investment in our state's future," he said in a statement issued shortly before 3:30 a.m. Friday, after the votes in the Assembly sent the bills to his desk. The version passed the Assembly and Senate asks voters to approve four propositions: $19.9 billion for roads and transit projects; $10.4 billion for school and university buildings; $4.1 billion for flood control; and $2.85 billion for affordable housing projects. San Bernardino County transportation officials are happy about any possible new source of money for desperately needed road improvements. "Transportation infrastructure is definitely a need for our region," said Cheryl Donahue, spokeswoman for San Bernardino Associated Governments, the county transportation agency. The projected need in the next 30 years for transportation is $13 billion in San Bernardino County alone, she said. Thanks to county voters agreeing to continue Measure I, the half-cent sales tax for transportation, the county will raise an estimated $6 billion in that time. Funding from state and federal sources is becoming more difficult to get, so any new pot of money is welcomed local officials. State Sen. Bob Dutton, R-Rancho Cucamonga, who led the negotiations for the transportation portion, said the bond is critical for the state to remedy decades of neglect. "I feel this bond is a first step in moving California forward," he said. "If we want to continue the economic growth and provide job opportunities, this goes a long way toward doing that." Dutton said residents need to recognize how important the constitutional limit on the use of Proposition 42 is. He said it will provide $100 billion for transportation during the next 30 years. The Legislature passed a constitutional amendment to protect Proposition 42 from being raided. The measure requires that state gas taxes go to transportation projects. "It's remarkable, the ... array of programs and the array of expenditures that will have a direct bearing on what people are doing day to day," State Sen. Don Perata said. "It's a good, solid piece of investment that will help fortify California's middle class." Schwarzenegger had made passing a massive public works spending plan the centerpiece of his re-election year agenda. During his state of the state address in January, the Republican governor proposed selling $68 billion in bonds to help pay for $222.6 billion in spending over 10 years. An attempt to place a smaller bond measure on the June ballot failed in March when lawmakers and the governor could not reach a compromise. Despite the legislative setback, polls showed that Schwarzenegger's proposal to upgrade the state's highways, bridges, schools, levees and water systems had broad public support. He had been involved in the negotiations with legislative leaders in recent weeks. Lawmakers of both parties wanted to strike a deal before they began negotiations over next year's state budget. Those talks will begin after the governor releases his revised spending plan next week. The package passed the Assembly and Senate is only about half the amount of borrowing originally sought by Schwarzenegger, but the governor's office said he was pleased with the action. "In January, the governor called for a historic investment in California's schools, levees and roads. The Senate should be applauded for their commitment to rebuilding this great state," Adam Mendelsohn, the governor's communications director, said in a statement. The votes of at least two Republicans in the Senate and six in the Assembly were required to get the two-thirds majorities required to approve the bond bills. Assembly Republicans had wanted some rollbacks in environmental reviews for construction projects and greater use of contracts in which one company both designs and builds a project. The Senate passed bills related to both those policy initiatives, but Assembly Republicans refused to support the bills, saying it did not contain the language they had sought. Both houses also approved a bill allocating $500 million from state reserves for immediate levee repairs and a constitutional amendment to protect Proposition 42 gas tax money for road projects. Staff writers Edward Barrera and Andrew Silva, and the Associated Press contributed to this report.