Citrus Heights would get light rail under county sales tax proposal

Sentinel staff report–
A new sales tax initiative seeking to get on the November ballot would increase the sales tax in Sacramento County by a half-percent to provide for transportation funding, including money for extending light rail to Citrus Heights.

If passed, the 40-year tax is expected to generate $8.5 billion in funding for transportation projects, including the Capital Southeast Connector expressway, which seeks to connect Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova and Folsom, according to The Sacramento Bee. Money would also go towards extending the Regional Transit light rail system “to Sacramento International Airport, Citrus Heights and Elk Grove,” along with maintenance of the American River Parkway and various road an freeway projects throughout Sacramento County.

Michael Quigley, executive director of the California Alliance for Jobs, one of the measure’s sponsors, said in a statement quoted by ABC 10 that “it’s time to reverse the trend of our decaying transportation infrastructure.”

“For years Sacramento has been facing increasing commute times, worsening congestion and declining air quality but this November vote will have an opportunity to support change,” he said.

A similar transportation tax measure in 2016, Measure B, narrowly failed to get the two-thirds majority it needed to pass, but the measure being proposed this year will only need 50% of support from voters to pass. The difference in threshold appears to be due to the measure being proposed by a coalition of business and other organizations rather than directly being proposed through the Sacramento Transportation Authority.

The latest effort would raise local sales tax from 7.75% to 8.25% in Citrus Heights and most parts of the county. The tax would be higher in Rancho Cordova and the city of Sacramento where the sales tax rate is already 8.25% and 8.75% respectively.

According to ABC 10, advocates of the tax measure launched a ballot initiative last month, on Feb. 23. Supporters of the initiative include California Alliance for Jobs and the Sacramento Region Business Association.

Additional specifics about how the funding would be used have not been released.

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