The Newsom administration announced last week a multi-part initiative designed to accelerate infrastructure projects that promise to pushing California further toward a cleaner and greener energy future.

Newsom traveled to Stanislaus County on Friday to use the site of a solar energy project in the Central Valley as an example of clean energy and water projects to come, and mingled among hardhat-wearing construction workers to signify the jobs that will be created by such work.

"The only way to achieve California's world-leading climate goals is to build, build, build -- faster," the governor said in a statement. The bluster was clearly intended to distract attention from the administration's energy strategy, widely regarded as incoherent, which brought the state to the brink of rolling blackouts last summer. The disconnects between onerous regulations, the lack of energy resources to match electrification ambitions and California's notorious anti-building climate were the centerpiece of CalAPA's webinar series last year, "The Future of Powering our Plants & Fleets."

Newsom's plan included an executive order that purports to streamline processes for project delivery, expedite court reviews from inevitable lawsuits over environmental reviews, streamline permitting, and maximize the use of federal infrastructure dollars. The governor's press announcement is HERE.

The irony was not lost on transportation advocates who have been pushing for accelerated delivery of the road-repair projects promised by the $50 billion Road Repair & Accountability Act of 2017. And Republicans offered up the equivalent of eye-rolls to the Democratic administration that is embracing initiatives the GOP has been advocating for years. The administration, meanwhile, is proposing in its latest budget revision to throttle back on transportation improvements, including fund transfers and other budget gimmicks, to address a $30 billion budget deficit.

In a pointed letter sent last week by CalAPA-supported Transportation California, the coalition opposed the Administration's proposal to shift $650 million of previously pledged General Fund revenues out of the State Highway Account (SHA).

"The Governor’s recent May Revision would shift $650 million from the SHA to backfill programs that were funded with one-time General Fund (revenues) in the 2022 Budget Act. The undersigned advocated for the passage of the General Fund supported Transportation Package last year to bolster sorely needed multimodal investments. However, we would have strongly opposed the concept of that package being funded with existing dollars and thus we must oppose the Governor’s proposals now," the Transportation California letter stated. "Prior to the May (Budget) Revision, the Department of Finance had testified to the January Budget’s $500 million SHA fund shift proposal stating it would not have an impact on the current program of projects in the State Highway Operations and Protection Program (SHOPP) – the state’s “fix-it-first” program that funds the repair and preservation, emergency repairs, safety improvements, and highway operational improvements on the State Highway System (SHS). However, now at $650 million, the fund shift could have impacts on the current program of projects and will most certainly have impacts on vital projects in the pipeline." The Transportation California letter is HERE.

The asphalt-heavy SHOPP program is closely watched by the asphalt industry as a barometer for overall asphalt consumption in the state as detailed in the CalAPA Asphalt Market Forecast for California reports.

As reported in last week's Asphalt Insider, the governor's proposed $306 billion spending plan for the new fiscal year that begins July 1 is trimmed slightly from the current record $308 billion budget. The administration's fiscal brain trust revealed that the state's budget deficit has ballooned by $9 billion since January and is expected to be $31.5 billion. The administration proposes filling the gap with numerous shifts in revenue, cuts in programs and spreading out the timeline in others. One of those gimmicks is shifting $150 million one-time General Fund allocations to the State Highway Account for goods-movement and port projects. The overall claw-back will eventually have a negative impact to the asphalt-heavy State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP). Protecting funds devoted to road repairs is a top priority for CalAPA, and has been the focus of ongoing meetings at the Capitol by a CalAPA members and its advocates.

An electronic copy of the state budget as proposed in January, and the May revision, can be found HERE. The May 8 Asphalt Insider story about the state budget is HERE, and the May 15 update is HERE. A previous Asphalt Insider story on the initial budget when it was released in January is HERE. Additional insight was provided to CalAPA members April 17 in the form of an update to the association's exclusive Asphalt Market Forecast for California. To learn more about CalAPA's advocacy efforts on behalf of the asphalt pavement industry in California, click HERE.

California Asphalt Pavement Association technical training classes are the gold standard for everything you need to know about asphalt pavements, from design, construction, testing, evaluation and maintenance. Increasingly, public agencies have found a great way to save money and ensure consistency in knowledge among agency personnel is to have CalAPA deliver training at their facility.

Recently, the City of Sunnyvale held a day of technical training for their street maintenance crews featuring CalAPA instructors Roger Smith and Skip Brown. "Roger and Skip were engaging presenters and experts," which made "paving interesting," said Street Operations Manager Sean Smith in an e-mail to CalAPA following the training.

And last week, CalAPA delivered a customized version of a perennial favorite, "Asphalt Pavement 101," plus elements of "Understanding the Job Mix Formula" for about 40 Caltrans employees at the department's Translab facility in Sacramento. The instructors were Smith and Brandon Milar, P.E., CalAPA's Director of Technical Services. Caltrans State Materials Engineer Tim Greutert texted CalAPA following the sessions that Caltrans managers "got great feedback" on the classes from attendees. Post-training evaluations returned indicated the classes had 100% scores in meeting or exceeding the expectations of attendees.

CalAPA instructors are noted experts in the field and are highly rated by class attendees in post-class evaluations. All attendees of CalAPA training classes receive a valuable reference workbook and handsome certificate of completion. Some classes may be eligible for continuing education credit for registered civil engineers and geologists. CalAPA classes are offered virtually or in person, and are recognized by the City & County Pavement Improvement Program at the University of California Pavement Research Center. Details about CalAPA's technical training program can be found HERE.

CalAPA recently opened its own state-of-the-art training facility at the association's offices in West Sacramento, which can accommodate in-person and virtual classes and meetings in comfort and style. The association also contracts with other conveniently located training venues around the state, such as the University of Phoenix and National University, to host classes in major metropolitan areas.

Contact CalAPA at (916) 791-5044 to learn about hosting a class at your facility. Details on our hosted class option can be found HERE. Check our on-line Calendar of events to view upcoming classes. CalAPA classes help satisfy the continuing education requirements of the CalAPA "Quality Paving Certificate." More details about the Quality Paving Certificate program can be found HERE.

CalAPA is pleased to welcome its newest supplier member, Standard Emulsions.

Based in Visalia, the company offers high-quality, state-of-the-art equipment and other products with exceptional service. The company features a range of asphalt emulsions and road oils designed to meet the unique needs of each project, such as applications for high traffic areas, weather resistance and dust control. Local delivery and application is available in the Western United States.

For more information about Standard Emulsions, click HERE to visit the company website, or contact: David Diaz, Plant Manager, at (661) 858-4623, or via e-mail at:

david@standardemulsions.com .

To learn more about CalAPA membership, click HERE.

CAPILLARY ACTION: The rise or movement of water in the voids of a soil caused by capillary forces.

Each week we highlight a key point or best practice of interest to asphalt paving crews, inspectors and others working in the field. We welcome suggestions. More tips can be found in our "Asphalt Parking Lot Construction Checklist" HERE. Information on the CalAPA "Quality Paving Certificate" program is HERE.

TONNAGE CALCULATION: Are there enough trucks on the run to haul the mix needed to complete the job? If you have five trucks on the round each carrying 25 tons = 125 tons per round. If each round takes one hour to make, then the production rate is 125 tons per hour. If the job requires 1,000 tons at 125 tons per hour = eight hours to get the mix to the job.

Each week we highlight a term that is specific to climate-change issues related to the asphalt pavement industry. This feature is intended to raise awareness of the asphalt industry's climate-change initiatives and the specialized terminology that goes with them. More information on "The Road Forward" asphalt industry climate initiative can be found HERE.

GREENHOUSE GAS (GHG): A gas that heats the earth because it absorbs infrared radiation.

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind."

– Bernard M. Baruch

We hope you enjoy CalAPA's Asphalt Insider newsletter. We are committed to providing you with the most up-to-date information on technical issues, regulation, news, analysis, events and trends in California that is of interest to the asphalt pavement industry and our various agency partners. Click HERE to contact us with any comments or suggestions.

Sincerely,

Executive Director

California Asphalt Pavement Association (CalAPA)®