The effort to replace Measure C, Fresno County\u2019s transportation half-cent sales tax expiring next year, has produced weeks of political drama involving county supervisors, state lawmakers, the governor and dueling ballot measures.<\/p>\n
The saga seemingly culminated late last week with Gov. Gavin Newsom signing emergency legislation Thursday and Mayor Jerry Dyer reversing course on a city-only tax.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not nearly the end of the story, it seems.<\/p>\n
It started with two competing plans<\/p>\n
The drama began last year when two groups launched campaigns for competing transportation tax plans to replace Measure C, which is expiring June 30, 2027. It generates about $160 million for roads that all Fresno County cities share and other pots of money for mass transit and other transportation initiatives.<\/p>\n
Only one plan, \u201cBetter Roads, Safe Streets<\/a>,\u201d which directs more revenue to mass transit and bike lanes, secured enough voter signatures to be considered for the Nov. 3 ballot. The other plan, \u201cFix our Roads<\/a>,\u201d did not get enough signatures.<\/p>\n The final hurdle was to be approval from the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, run by Garry Bredefeld, an anti-tax chairman who doesn\u2019t like expenditures on bike lanes or mass transit.<\/p>\n July 14 \u2014 Supervisors delay tax plan: Supervisors do not approve the plan and instead vote 3-2 for a 30-day financial study<\/a>, with Bredefeld defending the study as a responsible review of a plan that includes 120 miles of bike lanes.<\/p>\n July 14 \u2014 Ballot measure filing deadline loomed: The Aug. 7 deadline to place items on the Nov. 3 ballot becomes the pressure point because the 30-day study on the Better Roads, Safe Streets won\u2019t be finished until after that deadline, effectively delaying the ballot measure until at least March 2028.<\/p>\n July 30 \u2014 Belt and suspenders: Anticipating the county delay, the Fresno City Council votes 6-1 to place a city-only half-cent general sales tax on the November ballot<\/a> that would raise an estimated $65 million a year. Mayor Dyer and supporters say the city\u2019s ballot measure is an insurance policy to protect $54 million annually and 217 jobs tied to Measure C funding. The tax would sunset in 10 years, or if a countywide tax plan were to pass.<\/p>\n Aug. 3 \u2014 Enter state lawmakers: State Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Merced, and Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, gut and amend AB 1923 to declare that any Fresno County initiative certified with enough signatures by July 8 would automatically go on the Nov. 3 ballot, bypassing the supervisors entirely.<\/a> The bill still needs legislative approval and the governor\u2019s signature.<\/p>\n (No date) Lobbying: Ashley Swearengin, CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation and former Fresno mayor, personally lobbies in Sacramento<\/a>, and supporters hire lobbyist Olson Remcho. Mayors from 10 Fresno County cities sent letters urging passage of the state bill, calling the supervisors\u2019 30-day study a \u201cprocedural delay tactic.\u201d<\/p>\n Aug. 5 \u2014 Election interference? Former Fresno County Supervisor Henry R. Perea, a Democrat, breaks with his party to oppose AB 1923<\/a> as \u201celection tampering\u201d that usurps local control. He warns that the maneuvering puts Gov. Gavin Newsom in a tight spot given his stance against federal election interference, and says litigation is \u201ca possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n Aug. 6 \u2014 AB 1923 becomes law: The state Senate elections committee approves the bill 4-1, then it passes the full Assembly 54-16 and Senate 27-8 as an emergency measure. Governor Newsom signs it the next day,<\/a> placing Better Roads, Safe Streets on the November ballot, despite Fresno County lobbyist Paul Yoder warning senators that litigation would likely follow.<\/p>\n Aug. 6 \u2014 Will Fresno County sue? Bredefeld promises at a news conference to call for immediate litigation (VIDEO)<\/a>, describing the state bill as unconstitutional and pointing to potential challenges over state legislative procedure, though a judge in 2023 previously ruled Fresno County lacked standing to sue the state in a separate case. A supervisors closed-session discussion is set for Aug. 11.<\/p>\n Aug. 7 \u2014 Dyer reverses course: With the state bill approved, Dyer initially announces he won\u2019t sign<\/a> the city-only tax plan by the Aug. 7 ballot measure deadline, then reverses course hours later<\/a> by the 5 p.m. deadline, signing it as a hedge against the county measure being knocked off the ballot by litigation. This means Fresno voters who live in the city could see two competing half-cent sales tax measures on the Nov. 3 ballot.<\/p>\n Original stories by David Taub, Melissa Montalvo and Liliana Fannin<\/p>\n This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. Before publishing, journalists reviewed this content in compliance with McClatchy Media\u2019s AI policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n This report was produced with the assistance of a proprietary tool powered by artificial intelligence based on our own originally reported, written and published content. 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