Bill Would Extend Life of Measure M

Traffic was so bad in Orange County nine years ago that voters broke a decades-long record of vetoing new taxes and approved a half-cent sales tax to pay for better roads and other transportation improvements.

The promise at the time was that the Measure M tax would disappear in 2011.

But a state amendment now under consideration in Sacramento may give new life to Measure M and make it easier for voters to extend the tax for 20 years.

“What we’re trying to do is get money into the hands of locals to solve some of these awful transportation problems,” said Senate President Pro Tem John Burton (D-San Francisco), sponsor of the legislation.

But critics complain the measure would bypass a 1996 state proposition that forbids any new special tax without approval from two-thirds of the voters.

Burton’s bill would grant a one-time exemption for the transportation sales tax, allowing it to be extended with a simple majority vote.

The Orange County Transportation Authority is expected to vote to support the amendment today, although the board members will ask that the bill require restrictions on how any money can be spent.

Orange County will face a $4-billion shortfall in local transportation funds after Measure M expires, according to a forecast by county transportation planners.

“We don’t want to be left behind,” said John Standiford, spokesman for the county’s transportation authority.

Other counties are even more hard-pressed: Alameda County’s special transportation tax expires in 2002.

The Burton amendment could generate about $5 billion for Orange County transportation projects through 2031. The legislation already won approval in the state Senate and is awaiting action by the Assembly.

If passed by the Legislature, the proposed amendment would come before state voters on the November 2000 ballot. Even if the measure is approved statewide, every county wishing to extend its local transportation tax would need approval from a majority of its voters.

Los Angeles is the only county in the state that wouldn’t be affected, because its voters enacted a permanent half-cent sales tax for local transportation needs.

The measure could be a significant funding source for the estimated $122 billion the state Department of Transportation says is needed through 2020. The proposed constitutional amendment is one of several measures sponsored by Burton to provide the billions of dollars needed for state transportation needs.

Some politicians and taxpayers argue the Burton amendment contradicts the wishes of California voters, who in 1996 approved Prop. 218 to set the threshold for passing local taxes at a two-thirds vote.

Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer, a transportation board member, said politicians are ignoring the public’s mandate.

“The voters already said they didn’t want an exception,” he said. “The voters have already resolved the issue of new taxes.”

But many say the two-thirds requirement makes it nearly impossible to extend local transportation taxes. Several attempts in Northern California failed in the last two elections.

In tax-wary Orange County, Measure M passed in 1990 with just 54% of the vote.

The Burton amendment would making it possible for Orange and the other 17 counties with transportation sales taxes already on the books to adopt a 20-year extension.

Counties without an existing local half-cent sales tax for transportation funding could adopt the special fee if they meet certain criteria: A majority of county voters must approve the tax, and the county must specify exactly how the money will be spent. In addition, the counties would have to receive approval from a majority of their cities before proceeding with a countywide vote.

Supporters of the amendment say there is no harm in letting voters decide for themselves. Measure M--and similar programs statewide--were never intended to be panaceas to the state’s transportation woes.

“No one went out and promised voters this will take care of all of our transportation problems,” said Lisa Mills, executive director of Orange County Transportation Authority.

Michael Ward, an Irvine councilman and transportation board member, said voters also have the right to alter the tough requirements for adopting special taxes.

“We have to ask voters if they want to make an exception. I don’t think [Prop.] 218 said voters can never change their minds,” he said.

Board members said winning voter support to extend the sales tax would hinge on a guarantee of strong oversight.

“There’s no way the majority of Orange County taxpayers will vote to tax themselves if they don’t have control of the purse strings of the budget,” said Spitzer, the only board member to openly oppose the Burton amendment.

Local sales tax revenues have paid for 59% of capital improvements to the state’s transportation system in the last decade, state figures show.

Measure M has been popular in Orange County, where polls show 75% of voters are happy with how funds are being spent. The tax revenue--which will generate $3 billion over its 20-year life span--has paid for improvements to Metrolink, the El Toro Y and the Orange, Santa Ana, Riverside and Costa Mesa freeways.

Yet transportation planners say more improvements are necessary to prepare for the estimated 20% population increase expected in California over the next 10 years.

In Orange County, the average travel time to work is expected to increase 13 minutes to 39 minutes by 2020. Average daily vehicle miles are expected to grow by 43% between 1995 and 2020.

Even opponents of Burton’s amendment agree that the transportation system needs a massive infusion of cash but say the money should come from gasoline and vehicle license fees, which now go into the state’s general fund to support all state programs.

Republican lawmakers have criticized the Democratic administration for not earmarking more of the state’s $4-billion-plus surplus for transportation.

“The government has plenty of money,” said Assemblyman Scott Baugh (R-Huntington Beach), the Republican minority leader.

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Staff writer Megan Garvey contributed to this report.