Countywide

County officials asked the California Supreme Court on Friday to modify its decision striking down Proposition A in order to preserve revenue from the half-cent sales tax for jail and court construction.

In Friday’s legal brief, the county asked the justices to clarify whether their Dec. 19 ruling declaring Proposition A unconstitutional applies to the 1988 ballot proposition that was the subject of a lawsuit, or only to future measures.

If the court accepts the county’s argument that the ruling should only be applied “prospectively,” rather than retroactively, the $330 million collected between Jan. 1, 1989, and the Dec. 19 decision conceivably could be spent for criminal justice facilities, county officials said.

However, local Libertarian Party members who filed the lawsuit said they doubt the justices will allow the county to keep “illegal” revenue from the sales tax, which is still being collected.

Earlier this week, the state Supreme Court rejected the Libertarians’ request to immediately halt collection of the tax, which raises about $270,000 daily countywide.