An act to amend Sections 120480, 120481, 120485, and 120486 of, and to repeal Section 120482 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation.
Summary
AB 2484 would expand the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System’s authority to place a local retail transactions and use tax measure before voters. Under existing law, MTS may seek voter approval for a tax of up to 0.5% for public transit purposes within its jurisdiction or a portion of it; this bill would also allow that tax to be proposed through a qualified voter initiative, not just by the MTS board. It would also clarify that the tax may be proposed for all or part of the MTS service area, with rules for how partial-area measures must be drawn.
The bill further specifies that revenues must be used only for transportation and transit infrastructure and services, and that they supplement rather than replace other transportation funding. It authorizes the ballot measure to include bond authority backed by the tax proceeds, and it requires MTS to reimburse the County of San Diego for incremental election-related costs if a measure is submitted to voters. The bill also repeals Section 120482 of the Public Utilities Code and makes conforming changes to the MTS enabling statutes.
Impact
AB 2484 would amend the Mills-Deddeh Transit Development Act provisions governing MTS’s local sales tax authority in the Public Utilities Code. The most significant legal change is the addition of a qualified voter initiative pathway for imposing the MTS transactions and use tax, alongside the existing board-initiated election process. The bill also exempts the authorized 0.5% MTS tax from the countywide combined-rate cap in the Transactions and Use Tax Law, which could make it easier to place and approve a local transit tax without affecting other local sales tax capacity. It would also impose election administration duties on the County of San Diego and preserve the option to issue bonds backed by the tax.
Sentiment
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text and vote history is supportive but not unanimous. The measure advanced through committee with majority support, including 6-2 and 8-2 votes in earlier committee actions, and the digest labels it a majority vote bill. The findings section frames the proposal as a response to MTS’s post-pandemic fiscal pressures and a need for long-term transit funding, suggesting strong sponsor support for giving MTS more flexibility to secure local revenue.
Contention
The main points of contention appear to be the expansion of tax-initiative authority and the associated election and labor requirements. Allowing a qualified voter initiative to impose the tax shifts power away from the MTS board and could raise concerns about local tax policy being driven by initiative campaigns rather than agency planning. The bill also requires the county elections official to handle additional ballot-related work, with MTS reimbursing incremental costs, which may be a concern for county administration. In addition, the skilled workforce/project labor agreement requirement for large tax-funded construction contracts may draw interest from labor and contracting stakeholders, though no transcript comments are available here to show specific arguments.
An act to amend Sections 24801, 24826, 24827, 24830, 24862, and 24908 of, to repeal Section 24861 of, and to repeal and add Section 24863 of, the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation.
An act to add Section Sections 1371.143 and 128739 to, and to add Article 4 (commencing with Section 127480) to Chapter 2.5 of Part 2 of Division 107 of, the Health and Safety Code, and to add Section 10123.858 to the Insurance Code, relating to health care.