BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 767
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 767
(De León) - As Amended July 16, 2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Local Government |Vote:|6 - 3 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| |Transportation | |12 - 2 |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill deletes authority previously granted to the Los
Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to
extend an existing 0.5% sales tax measure for transportation
(Measure R) by 30 years, and instead authorizes MTA to impose,
SB 767
Page 2
by ordinance and subject to 2/3 voter approval, an additional
sales and use tax in Los Angeles County for a period to be
determined by MTA at a rate that, when combined with Measure R,
shall not exceed 1%.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Negligible state fiscal impact.
According to the State Board of Equalization (BOE) a new 0.5%
district tax in LA County would raise approximately $8 million
in the first full year of implementation.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. In Los Angeles, Measure R was approved by a majority
of the voters in November of 2008 and enacted a 0.5% sales tax
increase, in addition to the two 0.5% sales tax measures
already in place. The Measure R sales tax increase, effective
for 30 years, finances transportation projects and programs,
and accelerates those that were already in the pipeline.
The author believes that, although Measure R is drastically
changing transportation in Los Angeles, further investment is
necessary. SB 767 will provide Los Angeles County voters with
the opportunity to approve an additional sales tax for
transportation and will allow MTA to further expand its
transit systems, address key highway needs around the county,
support local agency transportation programs, and improve the
Metrolink service.
2)Background. The transactions and Use Tax Law authorizes the
adoption of local add-on rates to the combined state and local
sales tax rate. The law has been amended multiple times to
SB 767
Page 3
authorize specific cities, counties, special districts, and
county transportation authorities to impose a sales tax,
subject to two-thirds voter approval. Existing law caps the
combined rate of all sales taxes in a county at 2%, but
provides several exemptions to the cap, including allowing an
additional sales tax for transportation purposes in several
counties.
According to the BOE, Los Angeles County has 14 sales taxes,
including three county-wide taxes for transportation purposes
and 11 city-wide taxes. Despite the statutory exemption for
Measure R, the County has reached the 2% cap. Measure R, in
addition to Measure C (1990) and Proposition A (1980), which
were both imposed indefinitely, are the three one-half cent
county-wide sales taxes that provide the majority of MTA's
funding.
3)Related Legislation.
a) AB 338 (Hernández), pending in the Senate Transportation
Committee, also authorizes MTA to impose an additional
county wide 0.5% transactions and use tax, but is not
identical to this bill.
b) AB 464 (Mullin), on the Governor's Desk raises the
county transactions and use tax rate cap from 2% to 3%
statewide.
1)Prior Legislation:
a) SB 1037 (Hernández), Chapter 196, Statutes of 2014,
SB 767
Page 4
required MTA to update its expenditure plan and Long Range
Transportation Plan before placing another sales tax
measure before the voters.
b) AB 1446 (Feuer), Chapter 806, Statutes of 2012,
authorized MTA, subject to voter approval, to extend the
existing sales tax (Measure R) indefinitely. AB 1446 also
required MTA to update its expenditure plan prior to
submitting the tax measure to the voters. The measure was
put before Los Angeles County voters in November 2012 but
failed to achieve the two-thirds threshold necessary for
passage.
c) AB 2321 (Feuer), Chapter 302, Statutes of 2008,
authorized MTA to impose, subject to voter approval, a 0.5%
sales tax for 30 years and required MTA to include
specified projects and programs in its long-range
transportation plan. In November of 2008, more than 67% of
Los Angeles County voters approved this tax in a ballot
measure known as Measure R.
d) SB 314 (Murray), Chapter 785, Statutes of 2003,
originally enacted provisions that authorized MTA to
impose, subject to voter approval, a 0.5% sales tax for no
more than six and one-half years for specific
transportation projects and programs. That sales tax was
never imposed.
Analysis Prepared by:Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
SB 767
Page 5