MTA votes to seek sales tax hike to fund L.A. County transit, roads
The board takes a major step toward a series of projects over the next three decades, including the long-awaited subway to the sea. The state Legislature must approve the ballot measure first, though.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board on Thursday voted overwhelmingly to seek a half-cent-on-the-dollar sales tax increase that could raise $30 billion to $40 billion for transit and highway projects, including the first link of a long-awaited subway to the sea.
The 13-member board's action, approving a ballot measure for the Nov. 4 election, is a major step that could lead to construction of several dozen transportation projects in the county over the next three decades.
Before the measure can be placed on the ballot, the Legislature must authorize it, which Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says he is confident will happen soon. A bill, AB 2321, by Assemblyman Mike Feuer (D-Los Angeles) is pending in the Senate.
"This is a historic moment," Feuer told the MTA board before the vote. "We know our residents are calling on us to seize this moment. This is an opportunity that won't come again, not for a generation."
If approved by a required two-thirds majority, Measure R -- for relief, as in traffic relief -- would boost Los Angeles County's sales tax rate to 8.75%, tying it with Alameda County's for the highest in California.
Currently, one cent of the county's existing sales tax of 8.25 cents on the dollar goes for transportation projects in perpetuity. Voters approved a half-cent transportation tax in 1980 and another in 1990. The money has helped pay for bus purchases, construction of the Red Line subway and some light rail lines.
The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. estimates that the new tax would cost each county resident an average of about $25 a year. The half-cent increase would, for example, translate into an extra $125 in sales taxes on the purchase of a $25,000 car for residents of the county.
MTA officials say the measure could raise $30 billion to $40 billion over its 30-year life span, depending on the state of the economy and consumer spending habits. About 65% of the revenue would be used to expand the county's bus and rail systems, while 35% would be earmarked for highways, streets and, potentially, bikeways and sidewalks.
The county's rail system comprises Metrolink, the Red and Purple lines subway system and the Blue, Green and Gold light rail lines. The MTA also operates one of the largest public-transit bus systems in the nation.
Thirteen mass transit projects and 16 road projects would split the money raised by the tax increase. There would also be about $6 billion to be shared by all the cities in the county for their own projects.
