The Alameda County Transportation Commission is proposing an extension of the Measure B sales tax, which funds roads, highway and public transit, on the November 2012 ballot. This would be an early renewal of the sales tax, and possibly a temporary increase to three-quarters of a cent. The current tax is set to expire in 2022.

Effort is under way to get a measure on the ballot next year to ask voters to repeal the tax approved in 2008 for SMART.

To close a projected $1.6 billion deficit over the next 20 years, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is planning to cut $30 million from its budget while also asking voters to approve $50 million in new revenue. Options being considered include:

• an extra $50 to $150 vehicle registration fee. A “vehicle mitigation impact fee” would generate $24 million to $72 million a year.
• charging all San Francisco households $60 to$180 a year as a “transportation utility fee” delivering $26 million to $74 million.
• a parcel tax of up to $200 per property, good for $20 million to $39 million annually.
• a $100 to $300 annual fee for free commercial off-street parking spaces, raising between $6 million and $17 million.
• an increase to The City’s sales tax, generating $17 million from every one-eighth-cent increase.

Legislation passed in 2010 created 12 special tax districts in GA that each have the authority to place a 1% sales tax on the ballot in 2012 for transportation projects. The ten-county Atlanta metro region is placing a measure on the ballot that is almost 52% transit.