Another transportation tax may be headed to the Alameda County ballot.
State Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) has introduced legislation that would allow the county to seek voter approval for a transportation sales tax measure to fund infrastructure projects.
If AB 210 is approved, the county would have until Jan. 1, 2017 to place the measure on the ballot. It would restrict the sales tax increase to 0.5 percent.
Last November, just missing the two-thirds majority needed for approval. That proposal would have raised money for transportation projects.
“The result of Measure B1 not only shows that the voters understand how important it is to invest in our infrastructure, but that a strong majority supports doing so,” Wieckowski said. “The transportation demands of the county are not going to disappear. We must build an environmentally sustainable, multimodal transportation network. That’s critical for our businesses and residents, and to maintain job creation in the county.”
The bill is necessary because Alameda County cannot go to the ballot to increase the sales tax without an exemption to exceed the local 2 percent sales tax cap.
Wieckowski's bill is co-authored by fellow East Bay Assemblymembers Nancy Skinner, Rob Bonta, Joan Buchanan and Bill Quirk.
