Depending on where a citizen lives and at what income level, the average Californian currently contributes close to $1000 per year for state and local infrastructure through taxes and fees. We invest in infrastructure for three main reasons:

• Repair and maintenance – like fixing potholes, and repairing levees
• To keep up with population growth – estimated at more than 500,000 per year
• Better technology and higher standards – such as new technology and telecommunications in classrooms and communities, improved standards for water and air quality and earthquake retrofits

Most of California’s infrastructure investments were made in the “golden years” of the 1950’s and 1960’s. California’s Gross State Product was $68 billion in 1963, with infrastructure spending typically taking up 20% of the fiscal budget. Today our state’s economy produces over $1.6 trillion dollars annually, while infrastructure constitutes a mere 1% of the budget.

In 1955, the state’s population was about 13 million, compared to today’s 37 million residents. By 2025 it will be 46 million. Although the state has continued to spend increasing amounts on infrastructure in the past 20 years, the older infrastructure investments are showing their age and straining to support a vibrant economy and a growing population much larger than anticipated.

Some of the reasons why investment in infrastructure has dropped dramatically in the last 30 years include:

• Increasing skepticism about large-scale public spending and declining trust in government, resulting in measures like Proposition 13 which restrict the capacity to raise public funds
• Growing concern about the environment and quality of life, leading to stricter controls on construction of roads, schools, water and other projects.
• The absence of a shared vision and priorities for infrastructure among the state’s lawmakers and their constituents

A comparison of today’s public policy environment to 50 years ago reveals a greatly improved balance between the economy and the crosscutting goals of smart growth and environmental protection. While great strides have been made in developing public policy in these areas, the state is severely lagging in updating its fiscal policy framework to encourage productivity in infrastructure investment.