"Hooray! The bill to authorize a regional transit funding measure, S.B. 63, passed the legislature at 1:30 a.m. in the dark of Saturday morning! Now it's on to the Governor's desk where it's very likely to get signed This measure will provide 14 years of consistent funding to keep transit running and improving on the region's most used services - Muni, BART, Caltrain and AC Transit, and support other services around the region including SamTrans and VTA."
"S.B. 63 is a historic opportunity to allow voters in five counties of the Bay Area to consider a 14-year sales tax measure in November 2026 to preserve and improve transit. BART, and the entire transit network that keeps the Bay Area moving, stand to benefit from this bill. The legislation is needed because remote work has caused a decline in operating revenue for various operators and deficits are too large to solve through cuts alone."
"Advocates have worked tirelessly to ensure a $750 million bridge loan from the state to keep Bay Area transit running. And they've campaigned hard to get Senate Bill 63, the legislation by Senators Scott Wiener and Jesse Arreguín to fund transit, in front of voters next year. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been clear that BART's outdated funding model no longer works."
S.B. 63 passed the legislature and now heads to the Governor with a high likelihood of being signed. The bill would authorize voters in five Bay Area counties to consider a 14-year sales tax measure in November 2026 to preserve and improve transit. The measure aims to provide consistent funding for Muni, BART, Caltrain, AC Transit, SamTrans, VTA and other regional services while requiring coordinated, affordable, and accessible features such as free transfers and improved wayfinding. Remote work and pandemic-era ridership declines have created large operating deficits, and BART faces annual shortfalls once emergency aid ends in FY2026.
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