Proposition 1B			00.00 10/06
	Opinion
	Submitted as: "Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006"
	Measure 1B is a bond in the amount of $19.925 billion, to be used for improvements to the transportation infrastructure.
	Bonds are not "free money".  They have a number of negative qualities:
		The money is borrowed, and must be repaid.  This makes the state a debtor, and the debt at some point can become dangerous to the state's credit rating.
		The borrowed money must be repaid with interest; for a 30 year bond at 5%, this about doubles the face value cost of the bond.
		Money to pay interest generally comes from the state General Fund, operating money, dollars that might have been used instead to pay for current projects.
	Consequently, we believe bonds should be used only as a last resort, in cases where the need is urgent and there are no other means of raising the necessary money.  The purposes should be well defined and responsibility for management should be clearly described.
	We don't think 1B qualifies.  If one reviews the table of expenditures that is provided in our Summary for this measure, one sees that, although the various categories for expenditures are duly described, and each is carefully allocated to a labeled account, most of the accounts are newly created by 1B; their actual use can be anything the Legislature decides is appropriate, within the broad and windy descriptions provided by the actual measure text.
	Of the almost $20 Billion appropriated by the Bond, only $6.5 B goes to actual road improvements.  ($4.5 B to relieve congested corridors, $1 B for work on State Highway 99, and $2 B to cities and counties for local streets and roads.)   Two-thirds as much goes to mass transit, which the counties and transit users should be paying for.  $2 B goes to pay for improvements to Federally designated  “Trade Corridors of National Significance”.  (How are these distinct from highways and the $6.5 B already mentioned?)  $3.6 B goes to allocations to transportation planning agencies and county transportation commissions (to allow them to compete with the Highway Department, one supposes.).  Another $2 B goes to projects in the state transportation improvement program.   ($2 B probably would improve something, but we're not told what.)
	With the possible exception of Highway 99, none of this looks like a crisis to us, nor are we being told with any great precision what the money will be spent upon.
	Vote NO on 1B.
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