Digital News Report – Governor Jerry Brown has asked Republicans to come up with ideas to help balance the state’s budget. In response, Senator Joel Anderson (R – El Cajon), along with other legislators, believe they have found a solution.
Anderson says we need to change the way highways are built and maintained. The state spends too much on the Department of Transportation (Caltrans).
The plan includes cutting the salary and benefits of 20,000 Caltrans employees, each of which make over $100,000 per year. That could save the state $2 billion.
“The Caltrans’ culture has gone from ‘Can-do’ to ‘Probably-not,'” Anderson tells Digital News Report.
The agency seems to working against road construction, according to Anderson. “With road funding coming more and more from local and federal sources, Caltrans is becoming a broker more likely to block a road than build one.”
By Mark Williams