SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KGTV) -- Governor Gavin Newsom is proposing withholding gas tax funding for cities that don’t build enough housing.
The proposal, released Monday, sets higher short-term housing goals that cities and counties would be required to meet.
If housing goals aren’t met, “Local Streets and Roads funds may be withheld from any jurisdiction that does not have a compliant housing element and has not zoned and entitled for its updated annual housing goals.”
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If passed, the plan would withhold gas tax funding for road repairs beginning on July 1, 2023.
“Our state’s affordability crisis is undermining the California Dream and the foundations of our economic well-being,” said Governor Newsom. “Families should be able to live near where they work. They shouldn’t live in constant fear of eviction or spend their whole paycheck to keep a roof overhead. That’s increasingly the case throughout California.”
According to a news release, the proposal would provide $750 million in support and incentives to help plan and zone for increased housing goals.
SB1 was signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown and increased the gas tax by 12 cents per gallon and registration fees by as much as $175.
In November of 2018, an effort to repeal the gas tax increase, Proposition 6, failed to pass in a statewide vote.
