In 1986 voters passed Proposition 62, which sought to close a “loophole” in Proposition 13 that enabled transportation sales taxes to be passed by a simple majority of the voters. Proposition 62 required that these measures be approved by a supermajority of two-thirds of those voting, but proponents of the transportation sales taxes challenged the measure in court, and its impact was not fully felt until the early 1990s, after the measure was upheld by a state appellate court. Voters in Santa Clara County had approved by a simple majority a new sales tax to succeed the expiring tax originally passed in 1984.
The measure had not, however, achieved the two-thirds supermajority required by Proposition 62, and for several years the issue was left unresolved by suits and appeals. Finally, the appellate court’s Guardino decision made it clear that two-thirds majorities are required, and the adoption of such taxes slowed in the 1990s as proponents feared that the attainment of a super majority was virtually impossible.
Local Transportation Sales Taxes
Regional Sources of Funding
AB 1107 Permanent 1/2¢ Sales Tax, (Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco counties)
Local County Measure
Alameda County Measure B
Contra Costa County Measure C 1/2¢ Sales Tax
San Francisco City/County Proposition B 1/2¢ Sales Tax
Santa Clara County Permanent 1/2 Cent Sales Tax for Transit
Santa Clara County Measure B (expires 2006) 1/2¢ Sales Tax (+ Measure A)
San Mateo County Permanent 1/2¢ Sales Tax for Transit
San Mateo County Measure A 1/2¢ Sales Tax
Resources
Jeff Hobson. " Access Now! A Guide to Winning the Transportation Your Community Needs." [Online] 12 June 2007. <http://www.transcoalition.org/access/AccessNow.pdf >.
MTC Funding Guide [Online] 12 June 2007. <http://www.bicycling.511.org/library/funding_guide/fund_guide-htm/funding_guide12.htm>.
Bay Rail Alliance. “Santa Clara County Transportation Funding Guide.” [Online] 12 June 2007. <http://www.bayrailalliance.org/santa_clara_county_transportation_revenue_sources>.
Mike Bullock. “Guideway.” [Online] 12 June 2007. <<http://www.moderntransit.org/gw/4a.html>>.
TRAC. “Transportation for a
Livable Contra Costa: How the new Measure C could expand
transportation choices and foster smart growth.” [Online] 12 June 2007. <<http://www.transcoalition.org/reports/transportation_livable_contra_costa.pdf>>.
Center For Transportation Excellence. [Online] 12 June 2007. <<http://www.cfte.org/state/states.asp?StateID=5>>.
SFGOV. [Online] 12 June 2007. <<http://www.sfgov.org/site/courts_page.asp?id=3970>>.