FRESNO, Calif. – Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill on Thursday that allows a Fresno County transportation sales tax to appear on the November ballot.
Both chambers of the state legislature moved swiftly hours earlier to pass the bill, AB 1923, which was pushed by Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria and State Senator Anna Caballero.
The state legislators from the San Joaquin Valley moved on the sales tax after a coalition of Fresno County supervisors delayed its progress by voting for a study on the measure. The Better Roads, Safe Streets initiative had garnered 30,000 signatures by voters to appear on the local ballot.
The study request by the county meant the measure would miss a deadline to make it on the ballot.
Fresno County Supervisor Garry Bredefeld has been outspoken against the move by the state to force the measure after supervisors requested their study.
“They’re violating the constitution and targeting Fresno County. It's never been done before. Should never happen again,” he said at a press conference on Thursday.
Bredefeld said he will present a potential lawsuit against the state over the matter at the next supervisors meeting on Aug. 11.
Thursday’s signature by Gov. Newsom caps off months of infighting in Fresno County.
Voters campaigned for months to put up the sales tax in order to prevent a funding lapse in the county after a current transportation measure known as Measure C expires next summer.
The measure was not renewed in the county despite an early effort, which opened rifts among county mayors and community leaders due to disagreements over what the sales tax should fund. Measure C has paid for road and transit services for decades.
Fresno city leaders voted last week to place their own version of a transportation sales tax on the November ballot as the county measure looked doomed to fail.
But following the state’s intervention, Fresno Mayor Jerry Dayer said the city would not submit the measure to the county clerk so voters would not be confused about two sales tax measures. Dyer supported the resident-led sales tax measure.
Fresno County supervisor Luis Chavez said Thursday he also supported the state’s push to place the local sales tax on the November ballot.
He said he was against denying the wishes of thousands of Fresno County voters who signed a petition in favor of the tax measure.
“To me, there's nothing more local control than the people themselves, and at the end of the day, we work for the people, not the other way around,” he told KVPR.
Chavez said he still has major questions surrounding a county effort to pursue litigation over the state’s intervention, mainly over legal costs. Chavez told KVPR rough estimates could be as much as $50,000 to $100,000 in taxpayer dollars.
