ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Measure M Still Crucial

Orange County would be wrong to divert sales tax proceeds earmarked for transportation to a bankruptcy bailout, as a few observers have suggested. It makes no sense to cripple one part of the future to rescue another.

In 1990, Measure M increased the sales tax by half a cent for 20 years. Voters gave it deserved support partly because of promises that the proceeds would be used only for transportation. Because the county has experienced some of the worst traffic congestion in California, infrastructure improvements were crucial to future quality of life.

Measure M brings in about $130 million a year now, and that revenue has been used to sell bonds worth about $742 million. Replacing it with a sales tax increase designated to solve bankruptcy problems would be complicated. Because Measure M needed enabling legislation in Sacramento and passed by only a majority vote, not two-thirds, there are questions about how the changes would be made and presented to the voters on the ballot. Also, transportation officials say Measure M funds now available could be used after an amendment to finance bonds worth perhaps $100 million for the bankruptcy. By contrast, the proposed sales tax to get the county out of its bankruptcy woes could be used to back an estimated $700 million in bonds.

Voters approved the transportation tax because they rightly recognized that they must act. The bankruptcy presents a threat to the county’s future. Both the proposed new tax and Measure M are needed short-term measures.