Sales tax bill clears Legislature

A little less than 12 hours before the deadline for passing most legislation, the California Assembly today approved a bill, AB 2321, that would allow a half-cent sales tax increase to be placed on the Nov. 4 ballot in Los Angeles County.

The tax, if approved by voters, would pay for $30 billion to $40 billion of mass transit and road improvements over the next three decades before it sunsets, proponents say. The bill was sponsored by Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles), who has been trying to shepherd it through the Legislature for eight months.

It remains to be seen whether voters will have the chance to vote on the tax, although the proposal has been submitted by local officials to the county ballot and designated as Measure R. In order for the sales tax election to be legal, the bill still must be signed within 30 days by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The governor has threatened to veto all bills coming to his desk until the Legislature agrees on a state budget.

Schwarzenegger, however, made an exception recently when he signed a bill providing more details on how $9.95 billion in bonds would be spent on a high-speed rail system. That bond measure, Proposition 1A, is on the statewide November ballot.

Another complication: Schwarzenegger has proposed filling the state's $15-billion budget shortfall by imposing a temporary sales tax increase on all California residents. Such an increase probably would make it difficult to ask voters in L.A. County to tax themselves even more.

To put it another way, it should be a very interesting next few weeks for the county sales tax effort. One of the projects that would receive funding from the tax is an extension of the subway to the Westside. As it happens, Metro Rail officials this week are scheduled to announce the Westside route they've chosen for further study.

--Steve Hymon

Comments

[jeremy]

you made the argument that "toll the car pool lane" is a money making scheme for a desperate agency. i was simply pointing out that it is in no way the reason for the tolling.

peak hour tolling is not the idea, metro/caltrans want to open up the car pool lane to paying drivers when there is space to do so. meaning off times spotted throughout the day. with the money from tolling going into improved bus service during rush hour times, and increasing park and ride availability [that is currently maxed out] along the routes for those buses.

current carpoolers/hov/motorcycles can continue to use the lane.

caltrans is looking into re painting the run off areas between el monte and the 710. they never said its going to happen. but its an option.

times change, things change.

"Beiing berated with such slurs is an indication of the ridiculous length MTA will go to to defend this controversial Bush Administration "toll the lanes we've already paid for" project ? Maybe you feel our Congressional delegation is as ignorant as I am?"

what? i just told you to make sure your info is right

"You are using a tactic of accusing me of falsehoods, and yet you cannot cite any. A typical trick when one has nothing to refute?"

i merely said your claim that "toll the car pool lanes" was based in misleading information

[BOB2]

Jeremy,

What falsehoods on the toll the carpool lane program are you referring to? I take my 20+ years of experience in doing counts of our HOV network, over worthkless slurs and baseless innuendos. I have been to the MTA PR site. So what.

I know what the peak hour counts on the I-10 El Monte Busway are. They show that there is not significant capacity to sell. Caltrans is now proposing to add a lane. That is something that in 2000 they said was unsafe due to the volume of buses, during the 2+ fiasco.

Beiing berated with such slurs is an indication of the ridiculous length MTA will go to to defend this controversial Bush Administration "toll the lanes we've already paid for" project ? Maybe you feel our Congressional delegation is as ignorant as I am?

You are using a tactic of accusing me of falsehoods, and yet you cannot cite any. A typical trick when one has nothing to refute?

[jeremy]

bob2, you sir need to get your facts straight on the "toll the carpool lane"

the project is only to better the use of the carpool facilities throughout the day.

perhaps you should take the time to visit one of the public information meetings before claiming falsities that tarnish your argument

see for your self:
http://www.metro.net/projects_studies/fastlanes/news_info.htm

[JDRCRASH]

It's about time; this should have been done decades ago......

[BOB2]

This represents a real need for better public transit. This measure, however, is probably doomed, if the Governor gets a budget deal that includes any sales tax increase.

The failure of lthe MTA eadership to assure a broad consensus on this measure may also mean defeat, because it won't get the 2/3 required. Sales taxes are regressive and don't capture any of the gift of public value the subway or other investmetns will confer on developers at preferred locations. Worse, over 1/3 of this "transit" measure will be used by MTA to "backfill" cuts in state transportation funding for highway projects.

Failure in Sacramento and faliure at MTA to address systemic deficiencies in transportation finance will not solve our long term problems. So they instead look to schemes and scams like the "toll the carpool lane" fiasco to find money. This scheme alone will help to insure that MTA doesn't have 2/3 support at the polls.

Heckuva job?

[Jerome H. Weymouth]

HOORAY,"!!!
NOW LETS JUST VOTE ON IT AND "GET-R-DONE!