Title: Roadshow: How much gas tax money goes to California roads? – The Mercury News
Headings: Roadshow: How much gas tax money goes to California roads?
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Roadshow: How much gas tax money goes to California roads?

Content: I heard most of it is funneled into the general fund to help balance the state’s budget. Is this true? James Bechtold
Palo Alto
A No. Most gas tax money is earmarked for transportation. The state has been diverting $100 million of the $5 billion raised annually to the general fund, according to the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, along with $1 billion in annual truck weight fees to pay debt on general obligation bonds. A proposal by state Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, would bring these dollars back to transportation needs. When voters approved $20 billion in transportation bonds in 2006, those bonds were to be repaid from the general fund, but state officials decided to use the truck fees to pay them off, freeing up general fund money for other purposes. Q Having enjoyed the highways and congestion here in California for many years, I am a little skeptical of Caltrans and Sacramento. My question is: What percentage of dollars generated by the gas tax actually go to highways and how much goes into other transportation projects like buses, light rail and trains?