State lawmakers approved a bill that will ask voters to OK a $3 toll hike on all Bay Area bridges except on the Golden Gate Bridge.
Last week the state Legislature passed SB 595, which will now ask voters in all nine Bay Area counties to decide on whether to phase in the rate increase. For some local commuters, that could add up to as much as $9 to cross the Bay, money which will then go toward beefing up the region's existing infrastructure and transit agencies.
Voters will now get the chance in either November or June of next year to pass the bill with a simple majority.
The bill has already faced pushback from local commuter advocates and Bay Area lawmakers, with California State Assembly members Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon), Tim Grayson (D-Concord) and Jim Frazier (D-Brentwood) voting no on the measure.