New Measure M May Punish for Misuse of Money

To show voters that highway dollars will not be misused, the Orange County Transportation Commission is considering a tough, law-and-order stance on a proposed half-cent sales tax increase for highway-transit uses in the county.

A proposed tax increase measure, known as Measure M, would contain language that says that any official who misuses transportation money would be subject to a $10,000 fine and loss of public office.

“This would be the strongest protection against diversion of transportation dollars in the nation,” Dana R. Reed, commission chairman, said Tuesday. The proposal is part of a package designed to woo voter support for a new attempt to raise the sales tax for transportation improvements in Orange County.

The previous effort lost last November, with 47.4% favoring Measure M and 52.6% opposed. The County Transportation Commission, since early this year, has been considering a rerun of Measure M in the forthcoming Nov. 6 election.

Reed said that “unless some compelling reason presents itself,” the commission is poised to vote July 23 to put Measure M on the ballot again.

Measure M, both in its initial run last fall and as proposed again this fall, would increase the sales tax from 6 cents on the dollar to 6 1/2 cents. That half-cent increase would raise $3.1 billion over the next 20 years to be used for highway and transit projects in Orange County.

Reed said that the new Measure M would essentially be the same as last year’s. However, he said, four changes are being proposed in the new Measure M to reassure voters.

The first change, he said, is the one that would make it a criminal offense for any official to divert transportation funds for another purpose.

“I go around telling everyone that 100% of this money would be used for transportation, and I always hear someone saying, ‘Oh, yeah, you say that but you’ll actually spend the money for something else,’ ” Reed said. “Well, this language would change that.”

The three other changes in the new Measure M are: Making growth management a strong part of the measure. Reed noted that Proposition 111, the statewide gasoline tax initiative approved by voters last month, has some growth controls in it. The proposed change for the new Measure M would incorporate in it the controls now established by Proposition 111.

* Allowing county voters to show their support for a merger of county transportation agencies. State Sen. Marian Bergeson (R-Newport Beach) has a bill before the Legislature to merge the county Transportation Commission, the Orange County Transit District Board and the Service Authority for Freeway Emergencies.

* Appointing the county’s elected auditor-controller to a Citizens Oversight Committee that would check on the use of transportation money from Measure M. “By having an independent elected official with a strong financial background and a countywide constituency as the chairman of the oversight panel, the stature and credibility of the Citizens Oversight Committee is enhanced,” Reed said.

The County Transportation Commission will consider the changes at its meeting Monday.

Reed said he thinks the biggest single factor in getting Measure M approved is simply getting more people to the polls.