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Backers Of Prop 6 Gas Tax Repeal Rally In Santa Clara

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) - At a 76 Station in San Francisco, gas is $4.19 a gallon. Proposition 6 would repeal California's gas tax. If passed, that number would go down by 12 cents, and the state would have to look elsewhere to pay for road repairs.

California voters will decide whether to repeal an increase in the gas tax on November 6.

Backers of the repeal held a rally Monday in Santa Clara, saying Prop 6 is not about stopping road projects.

"We all want better roads," said Carl DeMaio, leader of the Yes on 6 campaign. "We all are upset that our roads are congested and they are not properly maintained."

"We've already paid one of the highest gas taxes in the country for good roads but what did the politicians do? They have stolen our money year after year," he told the crowd.

When Arnold Schwarzenegger was governor, the state borrowed billions from transportation funds to pay general fund expenses. According to the legislative analyst's office, as of 2015 the state still owed transportation funds $900 million.

Jim Wunderman is the president of the Bay Area Council.

"During the bad times there's a tendency to raid special funds and that has been true for transportation funds and most of those funds, I understand have been paid back," he said.

Wunderman's group supports the tax and says we can't change the past, but we need additional money and there are new safeguards in place to protect these funds.

"I think we're kind of an emergency here," said Wunderman. "Anybody who's out on the road everyday can tell you and here's an opportunity to actually do something about it."

He said, "With regard to these new funds, there's a lockbox, they have to go toward transportation."

According to KPIX 5'S Survey USA Poll, 58 percent of voters are in favor of Prop 6 and 29 percent are opposed to . Another 13 percent are undecided.

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