The Five-Year Infrastructure Plan is required to be updated annually by the Dept. of Finance and was created by Gov. Brown in his first iteration. The overarching, $57-billion plan now enforces the three priorities set by the Strategic Growth Council, which uses Chapter 1016 (AB 857) of 2002 as authority:

1. Promote infill development by rehabilitating, maintaining and improving existing infrastructure, particularly in underserved areas.

2. Protect environmental and agricultural resources.

3. Appropriately plan for growth with adequate transportation and services, and minimize ongoing costs to taxpayers.

Though 92% of the infrastructure is transportation, the 2015 version also includes the first expenditures from the 2014 water bond. Related to bonds and the governor’s avowed intent to pay down “the wall of debt,” the plan notes that $38.4 billion in general obligation bonds were authorized by voters from 1974-1999, followed by $103.2 billion since 2000. A total of $86.7 billion in debt is outstanding, and $35.4 billion in bonds are authorized but not issued. Annual debt service expenditure is up 155% from 2000, jumping from $2.9 billion to $7.4 billion in the current fiscal year. (See p. 3) Per capita debt is $2,465, up 36% since 2009 and well above the $1,436 national state average.

Of the $57 billion in proposed expenditures from combined funding sources, $21 billion goes to High Speed Rail. Expenditures are listed by category, by year and by source on p. 12. The Dept. of Water Resources is allocated $748 million in 2015-16 to launch bond programs, the California Department of Food & Agriculture receives $38.9 million over five years for the animal lab and border protection station refurbishing, and the Dept. of Technology gets $5.6 million to modernize the heating and cooling systems at a data center.

Water bond expenditures are governed by the governor’s California Water Action Plan goals of restoration, resilience and reliability. (p. 23-25, 38-39) This includes storage and flood control, though the State Water Plan (SWP) is not a part of the infrastructure plan because it is funded by contractors and general obligation bonds. Two more targeted programs are achieving the co-equal Delta goals and increasing energy efficiency at SWP pumps.

Link: http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2015-Infrastructure-Plan.pdf