Cram Course Is Needed for Measure J : * Proponents Have Their Work Cut Out for Them in Quickly Informing the Voters

Carpe diem --seize the day--could well be the campaign slogan for Measure J, which would raise the sales tax in Orange County by half a cent to pay for jails and other criminal justice facilities. The Board of Supervisors, armed with a Times poll that indicated greater than expected support for such a tax, moved quickly to appoint the Regional Justice Facilities Commission to put the measure on the May 14 ballot. The vote will coincide with a runoff election in the 35th Senate District, if needed.

That was a bold step, made after many years of inaction. But the compressed time frame also leaves very little time to educate the electorate. Voters are in a position where they must make a real effort to learn its details, and it’s up to proponents to help them out.

For example, the commission decided to defer a study of how much Measure J would raise in sales taxes because such a study would cost $30,000 to $40,000. Commissioners instead are relying on projections made for Measure M--the half-cent sales tax for transportation passed last November. That’s probably a wise decision, but the resulting confusion has allowed Measure J’s primary proponent, Sheriff Brad Gates, to claim that the tax would raise $343 million annually. That’s an inflated figure that is misleading. More accurately, according to Measure M projections, Measure J could be expected to raise about $163 million in its first full year, reaching the amount that Gates has suggested in about 2003.

There is also the matter of where jail facilities would be built. Jail commissioners can decide how to spend the money raised by Measure J, but they don’t have the power to select a site. The Board of Supervisors has already decided that a new major jail should be built in Gypsum Canyon near Anaheim Hills. That fact will not appear on the ballot, but voters can find out the details by reading ballot arguments and keeping up with news reporting on Measure J.

What still isn’t clear is the size of any new jail. There is a long-studied proposal that would provide for 6,700 cells in Gypsum Canyon, but that currently is under revision because it is considered too large and costly. A scaled-down version may be ready for review before the election, but there will be little time to review it. That adds to the confusion.

Voters have many facts to sort out in order to make a good decision. They must be alert over the next two months, and if proponents want to be successful, they will do all they can to make sure that people know what they are voting for.