As a California state assemblymember, Democratic Rep. Adam Gray cast the deciding vote to help pass controversial legislation increasing the state's tax on gasoline. As part of the deal California lawmakers struck to pass it, Gray's district received a sizable infrastructure grant that his cousin's newly established construction company—from which Gray himself has earned hundreds of thousands of dollars and is now a part owner of—cashed in on.
The California legislature passed the gas tax hike bill in April 2017 only after then-Gov. Jerry Brown (D.) and other Democratic leaders offered "a collection of eleventh-hour sweeteners" to lawmakers who were on the fence about it. Gray was evidently one of those lawmakers and, as such, an accompanying bill directed $100 million for a major roadway project and $400 million for a commuter railroad in his district comprising Merced County and surrounding central California jurisdictions. That means more than half of the nearly $1 billion in "sweeteners" the legislature approved as part of the deal directly benefited Gray's district.
The $100 million grant funded a 4.5-mile four-lane expressway connecting the University of California, Merced, campus to surrounding communities, something that has proven to be a boon personally for Gray and his cousin David Marvulli. The project—which county leaders personally credited Gray for and which Gray cut the ribbon for when it opened in 2022—paved the way for a new business plaza along the expressway that its developer hopes will eventually become an entertainment, shopping, and food center—and Marvulli's eponymous construction contracting company, Marvulli Inc., won the contract to build a gas station, convenience store, and the anchor project for that plaza, a $36 million 133-room Hilton Garden Inn that opened earlier this year. Those appear to represent Marvulli Inc.'s first hotel and gas station projects.
In an Instagram post on Jan. 30, 2026, the company celebrated the hotel's grand opening and stated that the project will have a "lasting impact on the Merced community." The company also posted photos of Marvulli standing outside the hotel alongside his family and what appears to be Gray himself.
It makes sense that Gray would attend the grand opening: He has reported involvement in his cousin's various business ventures for years dating back to his assemblymember days and, in federal financial disclosures, reported earning $366,112 in salary income from Marvulli Inc. between 2024 and 2025. He took an up to $250,000 stake in the company in 2025. The value of that stake has surged to as much as $500,000, and Gray earned as much as $100,000 in profit from the stake last year, his most recent disclosures show. Both the value increase and profit may reasonably be tied to Marvulli Inc.'s work at the Hilton-anchored plaza.
It returns a spotlight on Gray's vote to pass the gas tax hike nearly a decade ago. As Californians have been forced to pay more at the pump—the state has the highest gas tax in the nation thanks to that bill—Gray and his cousin have directly profited from the side deal that guaranteed it would pass. That may be why Gray, during the 2022 ribbon-cutting ceremony for the $100 million Merced expressway, said he would "do it 100 times again" when discussing his controversial vote for the bill.
"We were able to make a partnership on the Transportation Infrastructure Act to ensure that whatever deal got done would be a good deal for Merced County," he continued, the Merced Sun Star reported at the time.
After the gas tax passed, Merced County awarded several public infrastructure, repair, and renovation contracts to Marvulli Inc. According to a Washington Free Beacon analysis, Marvulli Inc. won at least seven such contracts worth $30.4 million between 2020 and 2025. The contracts are usually earmarked for a broad range of activities: For example, multiple contracts task Marvulli Inc. with "repairs, alterations, modernizations, maintenance, rehabilitation and demolition work performed on buildings, offices, facilities, structures, infrastructures or other real properties."
Those projects were likely enabled by the gas tax bill, which allocates a portion of the revenue generated by the higher gas tax to counties for local infrastructure projects. The state has diverted a total of $74.3 million in such revenue to Merced since 2017, according to state data.
Overall, the gas tax bill increased California's state transportation budget by billions of dollars, helping to fuel grants it has given to support infrastructure projects. The state's gas tax generated more than $9 billion in revenue for transportation funding.
In 2021, the California State Transportation Agency awarded Merced County a $6.5 million grant to expand a test track facility for autonomous vehicles that has been leased by companies like the Silicon Valley-based Waymo. Merced County officials later gave Gray "a lot of credit" for securing the grant.
Then, in August 2022, Gray reported in his state disclosures that he and Marvulli purchased a rundown dormitory complex close to the test facility through a nondescript real estate firm they jointly owned named Gemenii LLC. Property records obtained by the Free Beacon show Merced County sold the complex to the firm for just $600,000 on Aug.1, 2022.
Four years later, the county now reports the property is valued at more than $5 million, a staggering increase. While the increase may be explained by Gemenii's apparent renovation of the complex, it is more likely a result of its proximity to the high-tech test track facility Gray helped fund the expansion of.
In his financial disclosures, Gray reported earning as much as $1 million in rent income from the complex in 2023, just one year after he and his cousin acquired it—and before any renovation could be complete. Images captured by Google Street View show the complex was still undergoing renovation as recently as April 2025.
Gray's disclosures also report questionable information about the complex. The filings state the complex has 80 units, though property records show the complex boasts a living area of 8,976 square feet. If Gray's information is correct, it would suggest each unit is an average of 112 square feet, which is closer to the size of a single bedroom, not an entire apartment.
In addition, in 2023, the California State Transportation Agency granted another $49.6 million to Merced County to help develop an inland port and rail district located near the test track facility and operated by the freight rail firm Patriot Rail.
Patriot then selected Marvulli Inc. to construct the inland port dock, a project now prominently featured on Marvulli Inc.'s website. The project likely helped to further increase the value of the apartment complex Gray and Marvulli acquired.
It all comes as Gray prepares for yet another toss-up election, in which he’s being challenged by Republican Kevin Lincoln, the former mayor of Stockton. Gray initially ran for his current seat in 2022, but lost by a slim margin to then-incumbent Rep. John Duarte (R.). He barely defeated Duarte in 2024 by a margin of just 187 votes.
Beyond the success of his business ventures, Gray's support for California's gas tax hike also contrasts with the emphasis his campaign has put on affordability.
"Central Valley families know the affordability crisis firsthand, and Adam is working nonstop to lower the costs of food, housing, health care, utilities, and other everyday expenses," his campaign website states.
Gray's campaign, Marvulli Inc., and Merced County did not respond to requests for comment.
