County Seeks New Vote on Jails, Court Tax : Measure by Stirling Would Require Only a Simple Majority of Voters

Eight months after failing to convince two-thirds of San Diego County voters to increase the sales tax to pay for new jails and courthouses, county officials are now seeking permission from the Legislature to change the law so that the same measure could be passed with just a simple majority.

Assemblyman Larry Stirling (R-San Diego) on Monday added the needed provision to another bill he has pending in the Senate.

If Stirling’s bill is approved this year and signed by Gov. George Deukmejian, the county could put the sales-tax issue on the June, 1988, ballot.

That would allow voters to decide once again whether they are willing to raise the sales tax a half-penny on the dollar to fund new criminal justice buildings, which the county says are desperately needed to relieve overcrowding in the jails and to reduce unacceptable backlogs in the courts.

Votes Fell Far Short

In November, 50.7% of the voters approved the tax increase, but that margin of approval fell far short of the two-thirds majority needed to implement the measure. The two-thirds majority was a requirement included for the first time in Proposition 13, the 1978 initiative better known for placing limits on property taxes.

Stirling’s bill, however, would allow the county to get around the two-thirds requirement by creating a special Regional Justice Facility Financing Agency, which could then collect the half-cent sales tax with the approval of a simple majority.

The money collected through the sales tax could also be used to pay off bonds the county could issue as a way to raise even more money for its jail and courthouse projects.

A similar legislative technique was used to allow a newly created transportation agency to place a proposed sales tax increase on the ballot this November. That increase--also for a half-cent on the dollar--would be used to fund extensions to the San Diego Trolley and to build and maintain state and local roads.

If both tax increases are approved, the sales tax a year from now would be 7 cents on the dollar, rather than the current 6 cents.

Cost Rising Fast

John Sweeten, director of intergovernmental affairs for the county, said criminal justice programs represent the “fastest growing cost center” for county government. He added that the state seems unable or unwilling to bail San Diego and other counties out of their financial pinch.

“There is no place else to go,” Sweeten said. “Our revenues clearly cannot keep up with the cost increases. The only way the issue is going to be addressed is if local folks pull themselves up by the bootstraps and help themselves.”

Sweeten said the county chose the two-thirds option last time because it was easier to gain permission from the Legislature for such an election. If the county had tried this approach before last November’s election, it could already be collecting the increased sales tax.

“Hindsight is always better than foresight,” Sweeten said, explaining why the county chose the more difficult route the first time. “The other way didn’t work. We thought we might get the two-thirds vote and we didn’t.”