On Nov. 6, voters will determine the fate of transportation funding in California. It’s a monumental decision that could impact the way taxes are raised in the future, not to mention how we pay for repairs on roads, bridges, highways and transit right now.

If Proposition 6 passes, roughly $5.4 billion in annual funding for transportation improvements to highways, roads and transit would disappear. But whether the measure passes or fails, the vote on repealing last year’s gas tax increase will be precedent-setting, said Asha Weinstein Agrawal, director of the National Transportation Finance Center at San Jose’s Mineta Transportation Institute.

“It will send a very strong signal to California’s own elected officials — and nationally — about whether people support using some additional taxes to make the transportation system better,” Agrawal said.

But how is that money being spent? And how will you, personally, be affected? You’ve got questions. We’ve got answers.

What is Prop 6?

Prop. 6 eliminates the increase in gasoline and diesel taxes the legislature approved last year, along with increases in vehicle registration fees. It also would require a statewide vote for any future increase to California’s fuel taxes or vehicle fees.

The Public Policy Institute of California released a poll last month showing 52 percent of likely voters said they would vote no on Prop. 6, 39 percent would vote yes, and 8 percent were still undecided.

What was approved last year?

A new state law, called SB1, increased the tax on gasoline by 12 cents per gallon and the tax on diesel by 20 cents per gallon. The same law raised registration fees by $25 to $175 based on the value of the vehicle, for an average of $50 per car, according to the California Department of Finance. Zero-emission vehicles also will begin paying an additional $100 registration fee in 2020 because those drivers don’t pay for gas.

These new taxes and fees are expected to generate $5.4 billion annually, aimed mostly at road repair and maintenance. About two-thirds of the money from the higher taxes and fees is split between state highway repairs and money for cities and counties to maintain local streets. The next-largest share goes to transit, which receives about 14 percent of the funds.

But how much is that actually costing me?

The cost to individual motorists varies, depending on how much you drive, how efficient your car is and how much it’s worth. That being said, the state’s Department of Finance and supporters of the measure both came up with some figures:

The Prop. 6 campaign estimates the new taxes and fees will cost a “typical” family of four about $779 per year. That figure includes the increased taxes and the increased cost of goods due to higher transportation costs. To get this figure, the campaign created a fictional family of four and made some assumptions about what kind of cars they have and how much they would drive.

The Department of Finance used a different approach and found the cost of the new taxes and fees to an individual driver is, on average, $118.05 per year, or $236.10 for two adult drivers in a family of four. Its researchers took the total number of gallons of gas purchased in the state and divided that by the total number of drivers. They then multiplied that number by 12 cents — the increase in the tax on gasoline — which works out to $70.20 per year in fuel costs, and added $47.85, which is the average increase in registration fees based on the average value of all registered cars, said H.D. Palmer, the spokesman for the California Department of Finance. That works out to about $9.84 cents per month, per driver.

Wait, aren’t I paying a lot in taxes and fees already?

Relatively speaking, yes. California has the second-highest taxes on gasoline in the nation, totaling about 73.82 cents per gallon, depending on the price of gas. That is topped only by Pennsylvania, where motorists pay 77 cents per gallon. Golden State residents also pay some of the highest gasoline prices in the nation, second only to Hawaii and sometimes Alaska.

UC Berkeley economist Severin Borenstein points to other factors that bump up gas prices: cleaner-burning fuel requirements that contribute an extra 10 cents, low-carbon fuel-source requirements that add about 4 cents, the state’s cap-and-trade program, which sets limits on pollution and contributes roughly 12 cents, and one other factor — a “mystery surcharge” — researchers have yet to explain. He estimates the surcharge — which could arise from profiteering from oil companies or could be a product of logistical constraints in the supply chain, which would limit supply and drive up prices — adds a whopping 20 cents to each gallon of gasoline. More research is needed, he said, to fully understand that added cost.

So, where does all that money go, anyway?

Money generated from fuel taxes and vehicles fees is protected under the state constitution and can only be used to pay for transportation projects, including transportation-related debt and transit. The legislature can borrow those funds, but it has to pay it back with money from the general fund.

There’s one exception: money raised from taxes on gas or diesel for vehicles that don’t operate on public roads. Think jet skis, tractors, ATVs and other off-road vehicles. That money goes to the general fund and the departments of Parks and Recreation and Food and Agriculture.

Of the money raised through fuel taxes and vehicle fees — not just the increase from SB1 but all existing gas and diesel taxes, registration and weight fees — roughly 31 percent goes to highways and state infrastructure, 22 percent to local roads and 8.4 percent to transit. Another fifth of the funds, or about 22 percent, pays for the DMV and CHP. About 7.7 percent pays for transportation-related debt, and nearly 5 percent covers administrative costs. And another 4.3 percent is money that goes to the general fund, parks and farms, transportation-related research and workforce training.

Seems like the state had a lot of money before the tax hike. Why do we need it now?

A couple of things happened, said Agrawal. First, inflation eroded the purchasing power of the gas tax, she said. The last increase in the gas tax, from 9 cents per gallon to 18 cents, occurred over four years, from 1989 to 1993. Since then, the gas tax has stayed the same. Agrawal likened it to what would happen if your income never changed over a 25-year period.

“Let’s say someone was earning $18,000 per year in 1993 and that was a struggle, but they were getting by,” she said. “Flash forward to 2018, and that same person is still earning $18,000, but you’re not just getting by, you’re in dire straits.”

Cars have also gotten more fuel efficient, meaning drivers are purchasing less gas and therefore paying less in fuel taxes, even though the number of miles people are driving has increased, which creates more wear on roads and bridges. In 1993, the average car got 20.5 miles per gallon, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. In July 2017, the average car got 24.4 miles per gallon. That’s a 20 percent increase in the number of miles a car can drive on one gallon of gas. Those two factors alone, Agrawal said, explain why the state can’t make the necessary repairs to roads, highways and bridges with the money it has now.

What happens to Bay Area projects if the gas tax is repealed?

The state has already approved about $3.1 billion for Bay Area highways and public transit projects over the next five to ten years, though more money will roll out as projects are approved. Cities will receive $496 million this year to repair local streets. If Prop 6 passes, state transportation officials say roughly half of the recently approved highway improvements and public transit projects in California could lose funding, and cities and counties would see funding for road repairs slashed in half.

Among the projects in the Bay Area at risk of losing funding are $730 million to help extend BART to downtown San Jose, $318.6 million for BART to buy new train cars so the agency can carry more passengers by running longer trains, $233 million for toll lanes on Highway 101, $164 million to help electrify Caltrain, $150 million for more AC Transit buses, and $67.5 million in pedestrian and bicycle improvements.

You can view a map of all the projects funded by the new gas tax at RebuildingCa.Ca.Gov/Map.