Tax Hike to Ease Traffic
Ventura County
Proposition: Measure B
Summary: Will approve a half-cent sales tax for transportation projects for 30 years.
Who got it on the ballot: The Ventura County Transportation Commission and the Ventura County Board of Supervisors.
Who are in favor: The Building Industry Assn. of Southern California and Cal State Channel Islands Foundation.
Who are opposed: Citizens Against Urban Sprawl; representatives of Environmental Coalition of Ventura County and Sierra Club’s Los Padres chapter.
Who wins and who loses: The measure would generate about $1.5 billion over 30 years, with 40% for major road and freeway improvements, 40% for road work in cities and the unincorporated county and 20% for transit countywide such as bus and rail projects. Opponents argue that area taxpayers already underwrite freeway construction through a gasoline sales tax the state is siphoning away to plug a hole in the California budget, that expanded roadways encourage growth and that developers won’t have to spend as much for roads and interchanges for new subdivisions. Two-thirds voter approval is needed.
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