Paying for Infrastructure: California’s Choices

PPIC’s At Issue series focuses on issues important for California now and in the future. Financing infrastructure has traditionally been difficult for the state, and current economic woes are likely to make it even more challenging. In this At Issue, PPIC research director Ellen Hanak analyzes the impediments to infrastructure financing and describes funding reforms such as loosening the supermajority rules for local infrastructure funding, financing investment through user fees, and expanding public-private partnerships. She outlines how these reforms could improve the state’s ability to build for the future.