San Francisco Bay Area transit fix runs out of gas in Sacramento
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The backers of a tax measure to shore up funding for ailing San Francisco regional transit providers, notably the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, pulled it amid opposition on several fronts.
Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and Sen. Aisha Wahab, D-Hayward, who authored Senate Bill 1031, had promised further amendments as it moved to the Assembly after the Senate approved it on a 26-10 vote, May 31.
But on Friday, Wiener, Wahab and the bill’s sponsor, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, said they would pause the measure, citing the need for more time to work through various regional differences.
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“The goal is to determine what kind of authorizing legislation will obtain broad enough regional support to pass the Legislature next year and pave the way for a successful ballot measure in 2026,” they said
The bill would have authorized a 2026 ballot measure in the nine-county Bay Area to generate funds for the BART system, which is
It faced
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, state Sen. Dave Cortese, D-San Jose, and Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez had announced plans to form a political action committee to stop the tax proposal. They contended the proposal would tax their constituents to support transit agencies that primarily serve other regions.
The complex bill would have empowered the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, a regional transportation planning agency, to choose a half-cent sales tax, payroll tax, regional vehicle surcharge or a combination of tax methods to raise $1.5 billion in a tax set to expire in 30 years and place the measure on the ballot.
The regional tax measure was BART’s plan to avert annual operating deficits expected to reach $385 million by 2027.
Before the pandemic, BART, which runs 131 miles of rail service touching five counties, relied on farebox revenue for a substantial share of funding. With ridership still down substantially, it faces a looming fiscal crisis as federal COVID relief funds are depleted.
In April, according to data published by BART, total ridership was 42% of pre-COVID expectations.
MTC scheduled a special meeting for June 12 to discuss what it would take to reach regional consensus on placing such a measure on the ballot.
“Discussions about Senate Bill 1031 at our regular May meeting made clear that the legislation as currently written doesn’t have the broad support it needs to be successful,” MTC Chair and Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza said in a statement.
MTC is most effective when it’s united, Pedroza said, adding that he knows “every one of our Commissioners is committed to working with all the members of the Bay Area’s legislative delegation to structure a ballot measure we can all get behind.”
The commission plans to hold meetings with key parties in coming months to help the senators craft a bill that is palatable to all parties, according to the commission.
