Infrastructure bonds are the lifeblood of urban development. Placing unnecessary restrictions on them will only come back to bite Californians.
The board does not endorse Proposition 53 because of the impractical burden it will place on the state government in improving California’s infrastructure.
Proposition 53 would require state’s voter approval for infrastructure-related revenue bonds over $2 billion. The state government issues revenue bonds, repaid from users’ fees, to carry out local or statewide infrastructure improvements, such as bridge construction. This proposition is specifically targeting two projects with a budget over $2 billion: proposed water tunnels beneath the San Joaquin River Delta and the California High-Speed Rail.
Although the proposition appears as a means to provide opportunities for more voter involvement, it is impractical to expect all of California to weigh in on regional matters that do not pertain to them. Voters in San Francisco shouldn’t have to weigh on Los Angeles’s initiative to retrofit its bridges, for instance.
California is in dire need of infrastructure improvements, but this board does not endorse Proposition 53 because it would put undue restrictions on the state in its effort to do so.
Click the banner to read more election endorsements and analysis.