There will be no immediate deal on tax increases for road infrastructure because Republicans have held fast arguing that while revenues are up road needs have been ignored. The facts appear to back them up.

While 2015-16 state revenues are 37% higher than 2010-11, the last budget before Gov. Jerry Brown took office, state spending on transportation got little increases.

Had transportation received the same share of the 2015-16 money as it received in 2010-11, spending on transportation in 2015-16 would be $1.3 billion greater than the amount allocated in the 2015-16 budget.

Where did the increased revenue go?

According to Senator John Moorlach (R-Costa Mesa), “With gas tax revenue up, the state has actually decreased its funding allocation to our roads by diverting those funds to other line-items.” Moorloch highlighted in a release that in the six years following the Great Recession, gas tax revenue grew by 1.75 billion and road spending remained stagnant.

As I wrote in mid-July, the campaign for a gas tax increase resembled the effort to pass Prop 30—deny funding to programs until it hurts so that voters are convinced to raise taxes.

It worked with the schools and Prop 30, according to a Bloomberg article I cited in the July post. It did not work for the roads—-yet.