"Keeping our trains and buses running frequently and reliably is essential for the future of the Bay Area, said Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who authored the bill and stressed that the measure is critical to ensuring the Bay Area's transit systems don't go off a fiscal cliff. Since ridership plummeted during the pandemic, the Bay Area's transit systems have been reliant on emergency funding to help them close their yearly budget deficits."
"Business groups like the Bay Area Council pushed for the sales tax, saying they would fight the measure if it ended up a payroll or gross receipts tax, which labor unions and some climate groups were pushing for. The sales tax, they argue, will have a disproportionate impact on low-income residents already burdened with increased transit fares. Local government leaders have also wanted assurances that dollars raised in their counties would end up spent on transit systems there."
SB 63 was approved by the California Legislature, allowing a sales tax ballot measure to proceed in November 2026. Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to sign the bill by the Oct. 12 deadline. The measure aims to prevent a fiscal cliff for Bay Area transit systems by restoring long-term funding. Ridership plunged during the pandemic, leaving systems reliant on emergency funding. Negotiations stalled amid opposition between business groups favoring a sales tax and labor and climate groups backing payroll or gross-receipts taxes. The state has provided $5.1 billion and is negotiating a potential $750 million loan to bridge funding until the tax takes effect.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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