AJR 22

AJR22:v99#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Joint Resolution

No. 22

Relative to infrastructure.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AJR 22, as introduced, Arambula. Federal Infrastructure Bank.

This measure would strongly encourage the Congress of the United States to pass H.R. 1235 to establish a Federal Infrastructure Bank to facilitate the financing of urgently needed infrastructure projects in the United States.

Digest Key

Fiscal Committee: NO

Bill Text

WHEREAS, The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) issued a score of C for the current status of infrastructure in the United States in its 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, The ASCE also reported a $3.7 trillion total documented cumulative infrastructure gap between projected needs and likely investment in critical major American infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, In the 2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, the ASCE issued California infrastructure a score of D+ for roads, wastewater, dams, and levees along with a score of C for bridges; and

WHEREAS, It is estimated that southern California and the San Francisco Bay area are the second and third most congested urban regions in the nation; and

WHEREAS, Approximately 50 percent of bridges in California have exceeded their design life, California has the second largest percentage of functionally obsolete bridges that contribute to congestion choke points, over 7 percent of California’s bridges are structurally deficient, and some of the largest bridges along interstate corridors, including Interstate Highway Route 5 in San Diego, Highway 101 in Los Angeles, and Interstate Highway Route 80 in Sacramento, need major repair; and

WHEREAS, Congestion, delays, traffic collisions, and increased vehicle operating costs caused by poor road conditions cost Californians $63 billion annually; and

WHEREAS, Over the next 20 years, the cost of achieving water quality objectives will be approximately $20 billion in the County of Los Angeles, and $5 billion in the County of San Diego; and

WHEREAS, Over one-half of California’s 1,476 federally, state-, and locally owned dams are considered high hazard dams, with 70 percent of dams in California being greater than 50 years old, which is the average estimated life span of a dam; and

WHEREAS, A capital investment of $45 billion is needed to rehabilitate and improve California’s levees; and

WHEREAS, California needs long-term guaranteed financing to pay for the state’s high-speed rail system, which is estimated to require an excess of $75 billion; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Infrastructure Bank Act of 2023, H.R. 4052, would establish new national infrastructure bank authorities to invest in infrastructure projects, require no new federal spending or new tax, and be capitalized by repurposing existing United States Treasury debt; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Infrastructure Bank is modeled on previous banks that helped build much of the nation’s infrastructure under Presidents George Washington, James Madison, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt; and

WHEREAS, The last national infrastructure-modeled bank helped bring the United States out of the Great Depression and win World War II; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Infrastructure Bank would finance all the necessary infrastructure projects in California in partnership with state and local governments; and

WHEREAS, Infrastructure projects funded by the Federal Infrastructure Bank would create 25,000,000 new jobs, pay wages subject to the Davis-Bacon Act of 1931 (Public Law 71-798), and include “buy American” provisions; and

WHEREAS, The Federal Infrastructure Bank Act of 2023 would mandate large-scale minority hiring and prioritize the financing of infrastructure projects located in communities with long-term poverty, ensuring that disadvantaged business enterprises receive significant disbursements; and

WHEREAS, It is estimated that infrastructure projects financed by the Federal Infrastructure Bank would grow the economy by 5 percent, annually; and

WHEREAS, Numerous state legislatures have either introduced or passed resolutions supporting the creation of the Federal Infrastructure Bank, including the Nevada State Legislature, the Maine State Legislature, the Rhode Island General Assembly, and the New Jersey State Legislature; and

WHEREAS, Many county governments and city councils, including the city councils of the Cities of Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Providence (Rhode Island), and Toledo as well as national organizations, including the Public Banking Institute, the National Congress of Black Women, the National Association of Counties, the United States High Speed Rail Association, the National Latino Farmers and Ranchers, the American Sustainable Business Council, and the National Association of Minority Contractors have expressed support for the Federal Infrastructure Bank; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature strongly encourages the Congress of the United States to establish a Federal Infrastructure Bank to facilitate the financing of urgently needed infrastructure projects in the United States; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly prepare and transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, to each Senator and Representative of California in the Congress of the United States, and to the author for appropriate distribution.