TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

November/December 2004

Transportation 2030 Plan Gets Big Boost From Bay Area Voters

Good news is always welcome, no matter when it arrives. While the Draft Transportation 2030 Plan was still at the printer, Bay Area voters approved a bevy of tax measures that could add as much as $5.4 billion in local funds to the Transportation 2030 coffers — and fulfill much more of the region’s 25-year vision for improved mobility. While the voters’ decisions came too late to be included in the draft plan, they will be incorporated into the Final Transportation 2030 Plan, which is scheduled for adoption by MTC in February 2005.

Each of the newly passed tax measures required approval by at least two-thirds of voters, and together they represent a historic commitment of local funds to Bay Area transportation. Voters approved a $980 million bond to improve the seismic safety of the BART system; a parcel tax to support AC Transit bus operations; a new half-cent sales tax in Marin County to extend the U.S. 101 carpool lanes through San Rafael, improve local bus service, maintain local streets and roads, and improve pedestrian and bicycle access to schools; and 25-year extensions to existing half-cent sales taxes in Contra Costa and San Mateo counties. Election day returns showed Sonoma County Measure M, a new quarter-cent transportation sales tax, with a handful of votes more than the two-thirds minimum. But at press time, the measure’s fate still hung in the balance pending a final count of absentee and provisional ballots. If Measure M measures up, the November elections will have boosted the size of the Transportation 2030 down payment to more than $118 billion.

“The impressive November results bring the Transportation 2030 vision a lot closer to fruition,” said Randy Rentschler, MTC’s manager of Legislation and Public Affairs. “We really need to thank the voters for their commitment to tackling the region’s mobility challenges.”
— John Goodwin & Rebecca Long

November 2004 Local Election Results at a Glance

(All transportation measures required two-thirds vote approval)

Measure	Description	% Approval	Result
AC Transit Parcel Tax (Measure BB)	Extends (to 2015) and increases (to $48 annually, from $24) current parcel tax; estimated to raise $120 million.	71.7% – Alameda County 71.2% – Contra Costa 71.6% – Total	Passed
BART Seismic (Measure AA)	Raises property taxes (by $7.04 per $100,000 of assessed value) to finance the issuance of $980 million in bonds for BART’s Earthquake Safety Program. Expires in 2035.	69.5% – Alameda County 76.0% – San Francisco 60.4% – Contra Costa 67.9% – Three-County Total	Passed
Contra Costa County (Measure J)	Half-cent sales tax extension estimated to raise $2 billion. Expires in 2034.	70.5%	Passed
Marin County (Measure A)	New half-cent sales tax estimated to raise $332 million. Expires in 2025.	70.8%	Passed
San Mateo County (Measure A)	Half-cent sales tax extension estimated to raise $1.5 billion. Expires in 2033.	75.3%	Passed
Solano County (Measure A)	New half-cent sales tax would have raised an estimated $1.4 billion.	63.7%	Failed
Sonoma County (Measure M)	New quarter-cent sales tax estimated to raise $470 million. Expires in 2025.	66.7% – Pending final count (Currently projected to pass)	TBD

Contents