Transportation revenues.

Article XIX of the California Constitution restricts the expenditure of revenues from taxes imposed by the state on fuels used in motor vehicles upon public streets and highways to street and highway and certain mass transit purposes. Existing law requires certain miscellaneous revenues deposited in the State Highway Account that are not restricted as to expenditure by Article XIX of the California Constitution to be transferred to the Transportation Debt Service Fund in the State Transportation Fund, as specified, and requires the Controller to transfer from the fund to the General Fund an amount of those revenues necessary to offset the current year debt service made from the General Fund on general obligation transportation bonds issued pursuant to Proposition 116 of 1990. This bill would, on July 1, 2019, delete the transfer of these miscellaneous revenues to the Transportation Debt Service Fund, thereby eliminating the offsetting transfer to the General Fund for debt service on general obligation transportation bonds issued pursuant to Proposition 116 of 1990. The bill, subject to a specified exception, would, on July 1, 2019, instead require the miscellaneous revenues to be retained in the State Highway Account and to be used solely for transportation expenditures consistent with the restrictions for expenditure of fuel tax revenues in Article XIX of the California Constitution. Existing law provides for the deposit of all moneys received by the Department of Motor Vehicles into the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation Fund, which includes some miscellaneous revenues that are not restricted by Article XIX of the California Constitution. Item 2740-011-0044 of Section 2.00 of the Budget Act of 2017, in that regard, requires the Controller to transfer those miscellaneous revenues from the Motor Vehicle Account to the General Fund and estimates the amount of those revenues in the 2016–17 fiscal year at $84,044,000. This bill would repeal the above-referenced item of the Budget Act of 2017. The bill would require the Controller to transfer, from the General Fund to the Motor Vehicle Account, an amount equal to all revenues previously transferred from that account to the General Fund pursuant to this item. The bill, commencing in the 2017–18 fiscal year, would require all revenues in the Motor Vehicle Account that are not protected by Article XIX of the California Constitution to be used solely for transportation expenditures, as specified.