Following behind-the-scenes maneuvering and a public relations blitz by Democratic leaders, the California state legislature on Thursday evening, April 6, approved a $52 billion transportation funding package that raises the gas tax and imposes new vehicle fees to fix the state’s crumbling roads.

SB 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, passed the senate by a 27-11 vote, barely clearing the two-thirds hurdle needed to pass tax increases. After 10:30 p.m. the Assembly OK’d the bill on a 54-26 vote.

Going into the day, it wasn’t clear whether Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature’s Democratic leadership had enough support despite a sustained lobbying effort leading up to Thursday’s self-imposed deadline for a vote.

Failure to pass SB 1 would have been an embarrassing setback for the Democratic majority in Sacramento. Thursday’s deadline stemmed from the idea that opposition to the bill would harden during the legislative recess, which starts Friday.

Closed-door talks sought to convince reluctant Democrats to come on board. Particular focus was on Sen. Richard Roth and Assemblywoman Sabrina Cervantes, both D-Riverside. According to published reports, those lawmakers were being wooed with the promise of hundreds of millions of dollars in funding ticketed for Riverside County through a budget trailer bill.

Roth and another undecided Democrat, Connie Leyva of Chino, voted yes. The only Republican senator to vote for the bill was Anthony Cannella of Modesto.

Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, voted no. But the two-thirds threshold was cleared with Canella’s ‘yes’ vote.

Representatives of Cervantes and Roth could not be reached for comment. Going into Thursday, Roth said he did not support the bill while Cervantes was undecided.

Sponsored by Sen. Jim Beall, D-San Jose, SB 1 will raise $52.4 billion over 10 years for transportation by raising California’s gas excise tax 12 cents to 30 cents a gallon, with annual adjustments for inflation. Also, the diesel excise tax will go up 20 cents to 36 cents a gallon and the diesel sales tax will rise from 1.75 percent to 5.75 percent.

Money also will come from a new fee on vehicles – those worth $5,000 or less will pay $25 a year while owners of vehicles worth $60,000 or more will pay $175 annually – and a $100 annual fee on zero-emission vehicles.

A constitutional amendment will require money raised through SB 1 to be spent solely on transportation.

Supporters said SB 1 was desperately needed to address a mounting backlog of road repairs in excess of $130 billion. They argued the tax hikes and new fees were cheaper than repair bills drivers faced driving on crumbling, pothole-strewn roads and that if lawmakers didn’t act now, the price tag for road work would only go up.

SB 1 also will spur economic activity by improving goods movement and supporting construction jobs that spend money locally, the bill’s backers said.

“If we can have better-maintained roads, we will prevent accidents and deaths and (it will) help us have a better outcome for traffic and congestion,” Beall said on the Senate floor.

Critics include GOP lawmakers and taxpayer advocates, who said new taxes and fees aren’t necessary to fix the roads and will add to the cost of driving in a state that pays among the highest gas prices in the nation. They added the state has squandered transportation funds and spent that money elsewhere.

The bill hurts the very people Democrats claim to champion, said Sen. Jeff Stone, R-Temecula. “I have a lot of folks at home and throughout this state that have to choose between gasoline and food,” he told his colleagues.

Environmentalists objected to a provision that will have loosened clean-air requirements for trucks. The South Coast Air Quality Management District, which is tasked with reducing air pollution, said that provision would “severely impact (the district’s) ability to implement its recently-adopted air quality management plan for ozone and fine particulates.”

The bill marked the first real test of Democratic power this legislative session. Democrats regained their supermajority last November, but just barely in the Senate.

Assuming every Republican voted no, a single ‘no’ vote from a Democratic senator would have sunk SB 1. The bill also would have failed if two of the Assembly’s 55 Democrats were opposed.

Going into the new year, Democratic leaders declared transportation to be a top priority. But while GOP power has waned in recent years, a bloc of moderate Democrats backed by business interests has been a barrier to liberal goals, including climate change legislation.

The moderates, who tend to represent inland areas, have been reluctant to sign on to tax hikes, fearing the potential wrath from blue-collar constituents who spent a lot on gas while driving long distances to work.

The governor, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount and Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, made several joint public appearances on behalf of SB 1, including a rally with local elected leaders Tuesday in Riverside in a veiled appeal to Roth. The senator was not there.

Staff Writer David Danelski contributed to this report.