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Rural Counties Task Force Meeting – October 2005

Rural Counties Task Force Meeting – October 2005. Martin Wachs University of California, Berkeley. Quiet Revolution Under Way Nationally. State legislatures reluctant to raise user fees Increasingly reluctant to directly raise fees or taxes at all

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Rural Counties Task Force Meeting – October 2005

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  1. Rural Counties Task Force Meeting – October 2005 Martin Wachs University of California, Berkeley

  2. Quiet Revolution Under WayNationally • State legislatures reluctant to raise user fees • Increasingly reluctant to directly raise fees or taxes at all • Putting measures on ballot for voters to enact instead of taking action in legislatures

  3. Number of states granting authority to local governments…..All since 1970 • 15 States: Local motor fuel taxes • 33 States: Local vehicle license/registration fees • 33 States: Local option sales taxes • 15 States: Local income/payroll taxes • A few others….severance taxes; impact fees; real estate transfer taxes, mortgage recording taxes

  4. Local Option Sales Taxes • Most popular and fastest growing • National survey and detailed study of California (23 Counties; 85% of Population) • Read ballot measures • Interviewed proponents/opponents/administrators • Examined projects built and not built, studied budgets and costs

  5. Major Features of LOSTS • Majority or Supermajority (in CA) Vote Required • Sunset Date/ Reauthorization Required • Lists of Projects or Categories of Spending • Implementation by Local Governments

  6. Change is happening quickly • 44 Transportation Finance Ballot Measures in US in 2002 • 32 Local/Regional in Nature • 9 Statewide • 20 Dealt with sales taxes • 5 Property taxes • 1 Gasoline tax 9 Bond issues • Another 43 in 2003

  7. Voting Patterns • People vote their interests (e.g. bicyclists vote for bike paths) • People vote geographically • Democrats more supportive than Republicans

  8. Recent CA LTST Vote Results • 2000 Alameda 81.5% Passed • Santa Clara 70% Passed • Sonoma(Hwy) 58.5% Failed • Sonoma (Transit) 60.3% Failed • 2002 Fresno 54% Failed • Madera 51% Failed • Riverside 69% Passed • Merced 61% Failed • Solano 60% Failed

  9. Recent CA LTST Vote Results • 2003 San Francisco 75% Passed • 2004 Contra Costa 71% Passed • Marin 71% Passed • Sacramento 75% Passed • San Bernardino 80% Passed • San Diego 67% Passed • San Mateo 76% Passed • Sonoma 67% Passed • Santa Cruz 43% Failed • Solano 64% Failed

  10. Sonoma County Instructive • Part rural but part suburban • History of several attempts to pass measures • If you try and don’t succeed, try again and learn from your mistakes……

  11. Source: Sonoma County Registrar of voters: http://www.sonoma-county.org/regvoter/ Table XX: History of local transportation sales taxes in Sonoma County since 1990.

  12. Sonoma 2000 Measure B • In order to (1) widen and improve Highway 101 from Windsor to the Sonoma-Marin border; (2) improve or construct major Highway 101 interchanges; and (3) improve sections of Highway 116, shall a 1/2 cent sales tax be levied for a period not to exceed eight (8) years?

  13. Sonoma 2000 Measure C • In order to (1) repair and improve local streets and roads; (2) implement passenger rail service through Sonoma and Marin counties; (3) expand transit service by increasing bus frequencies and establishing broader service; (4) enhance transit service for seniors and the disabled; and (5) build and improve bicycle and pedestrian paths, shall a 1/4 cent sales tax be levied for a period not to exceed sixteen (16) years?

  14. Comparing 2000 Measures B & C • Highways Measure Resulted from Organized Campaign…..58.5% Voted in Favor and it Failed • Transit Measure Resulted from Hasty Last Minute Effort…..60.3% Voted in Favor & it Failed… • Suggests New Interpretation….Transit Measures May Be Inherently More Popular

  15. Sonoma 2004 Measure M • To maintain local streets, fix potholes, accelerate widening Highway 101, improve interchanges, restore and enhance transit, support development of passenger rail, and build safe bike/pedestrian routes, shall the Sonoma County Transportation Authority be authorized to levy a 1/4 cent retail transactions and use tax for a period not to exceed 20 years, spend money raised by the tax on the projects proposed, and issue bonds to finance the projects?

  16. Interpretations from Regression • Greater correlation between failed transit and passed combined measure than between failed highway and passed combined measure • Environmentally oriented citizens more likely to vote yes • Democrats vote yes; Republicans less so • Higher income/education communities vote yes, holding constant political affiliation • Proximity to projects a good predictor

  17. Which way do we go?

  18. Issues Raised by LOSTs • Move away from user fee philosophy • Sales Tax is broad based tax • Regressive • Consistency with Regional Transportation Plans • Project delivery • Local authority and responsibility • Flexibility versus specificity • Salience of issue of “trust”

  19. More Issues Raised by LOSTS • Christmas tree measures • Pay to play measures may be even worse (California Proposition 51) • Dissociation between projects and efficiency of management of system • Increased congestion in many areas is due to longer-intercity trips; why pay for improvements through local taxes?

  20. Broader Questions Worth Asking Is user fee concept still valid and appropriate? • User fees provide incentives to efficiency • Motor fuel taxes were second best, and may be declining • Technology to the rescue/ A new era of tolls • Attitudes changing toward tolls, if you get what you pay for

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