On local (Sacramento) TV the other night before the vote, Democratic AND Republican members of the California Senate said that their constituent phone calls were 80% AGAINST the tax measure, and yet they approved it. The TV station also said that public opinion telephone polls about the measure were about 80% against it, too.
The measure was already amended before approval to remove a bunch of money from the announced purpose of fixing roads, to supporting mass transit. A Republican senator who was the swing vote to approve the measure got a special pork barrel amendment package of projects for his district, too.
BTW, I just got the yearly DMV renewal notice for my 13 year old RAM 3500 - $374, and that will be going up by $45 (I believe) next year as part of this tax package.