CHP Now Actively Enforcing Construction Zones – Caltrans has long had an agreement with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to place officers in construction zones and alongside Caltrans maintenance crews. The maintenance program’s official name is the Maintenance Zone Enhanced Enforcement Program (MAZEEP) and the construction program is called the Construction Zone Enhanced Enforcement Program (COZEEP). The officers previously served as a deterrent for speeding motorists to slow down. SCCA and the industry have long requested the CHP to cite vehicles, but both departments resisted those requests. Now, beginning in 2026, CHP officers have begun patrolling both work zones and, according to Caltrans, citations have increased by 500%.

Trump Supports Gas Tax Holiday – SCCA’s federal partner, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), announced yesterday that President Trump supports the temporary suspension of the federal excise tax on gasoline. The sale of gasoline is assessed 18.4 cents per gallon by the federal government. California assesses 61 cents per gallon. Both taxes fund transportation infrastructure maintenance and capital projects. The temporary suspension, colloquially called a gas tax holiday, is intended to reduce the price of gas. Industry groups, including SCCA, have long argued that consumers will not see any relief from the suspension. It will, the industry asserts, be absorbed in the global petroleum supply chain.

Gas Price Increases on the Horizon – A hearing led by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) sought insight into the high prices of gasoline. KQED covered the event in a concise story. You can find the committee’s excellent background document by clicking this link. Additionally, it’s worth noting that many of the legislators that participated in this hearing acknowledge that California is in a transition plan away from gasoline and into “clean energy.”

Behind the Green Tech Curtain – Politics is not warfare. But there are great principles that apply to politics that are derived from it. Sun Tzu argued that it is important to understand your adversary. It is in that spirit that a Capitol Weekly opinion editorial is worth the read. While you read the article, remember the clean tech industry, roughly defined as those companies that directly and indirectly build zero emission vehicles and the devices that support them, has only thrived because of California policies designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The article references AB 1777, an SCCA-opposed bill that will allow CARB the authority to enact an indirect source rule on, for example, construction sites. This is all a result of California policies to force people out of their cars. Think that’s a stretch? Check out this slide from the California Energy Commission (CEC), in response to a hearing asking state government how it can cope with high gas prices. One of the CEC’s responses was “vehicle miles travelled reduction strategies.” This is a jargoned way of describing a strategy to force people out of their cars. The green tech industry relies on these types of zero-emission laws and policies in order for their businesses to succeed.

Delta Conveyance Project Creeps Ahead – Governor Newsom announced last month that a major water infrastructure project in Northern California received important planning and design approval. The Delta Conveyance Project is an ambitious water infrastructure project that will separate water from the State Water Project and the Central Valley Project and re-route it underneath the environmentally-sensitive California Delta. The project, once completed, will provide a more reliable source of water for Southern California and better protection from natural disasters such as earthquakes and flooding. Newsom redrew the plan when he took office seven years ago, reducing it from a two tunnel project to a single 36-foot diameter one. This change forced the state to restart the project’s many environmental planning documents. CalMatters has a great background on the project.

CA Job Growth is Stagnant; Construction Job Sector Shrinks – The highly respected Public Policy Institute of California released an “Explainer” document last month on California’s labor market trends. It highlighted two key data points for the construction industry. First, job growth in the construction sector decreased by 3.2% since July 2022. Second, statewide growth is occurring primarily in lower-cost inland areas. Additionally, the labor force in the “Information” sector decreased by nearly 17%, a likely consequence of artificial intelligence applications entering the workforce. There’s a lot of good information in this report.

BLS on Jobsite Fatalities – The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that on-the-job fatalities totalled 5,070 across the country. That figure is down from 2023 which recorded 5,283. The good news also included the construction industry which saw a reduction from 1,075 fatalities to 1,034.

California Assessed Property Value – Here’s a quick data point on something very interesting. If you were to add up the value of all real property that’s assessed for property tax in California (only taxable real property, which excludes government owned property, charitable properties, religious institutions, etc.) what would it amount to? The California Board of Equalization (BOE), the state agency responsible for collecting certain taxes, stated last month that the total amounted to $9.1 trillion. The BOE has a great release that explains how property tax is used in California government.

Income Inequality Continues to Expand – The difference between the top earners and the lowest in California continues to increase. According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), the top earners received 11 times more income than the lowest. The PPIC reports in its April 2026 “Fact Sheet” that this disparity has increased 57% since the 1980s. Income inequality is an important data point because legislators and policymakers continually reference it to justify higher taxes on top earners. Their consistent message is that those in the top income brackets should “pay their fair share” even though the top 1% disproportionately pay about 40% of all state income revenues.