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Metro Board (Knabe, DuBois Dissenting) Seeks Half-Cent Sales Tax Hike On November Ballot Promising These Projects; On Same Day, Sac'to Ass'yman Mendoza Announces He'll Advance Bill To Add Several New Metro Board Seats...Including One For LB Mayor


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(June 24, 2016, 2:40 p.m.) -- On June 23, the governing board (members listed here) of L.A. County's Metropolitan Transportation Authority ("Metro") voted 11-2 (Knabe and DuBois dissenting) to recommend that L.A. County's Board of Supervisors put a half-cent sales tax increase on the November ballot for projects listed here.

If approved by 2/3 of L.A. County voters, Metro's sales tax would raise Long Beach's sales tax rate to 10.5% while consumers in Signal Hill/Lakewood would pay 9.5% and those in most OC cities would pay 8%.

[Scroll down for further.]


LB's sales tax will jump to 10% effective Jan. 1, 2017 following June 2016 LB voter approval of the "Measure A" 1% sales tax increase sought by Mayor Robert Garcia and placed on the ballot (without dissent) by the LB City Council. Measure A passed by a roughly 60-40 margin citywide with a ballot title and text, amplified by a $600,000+ special interest funded campaign, that described the general tax increase measure (which the Council can spend on any general fund items) as providing police, fire and infrastructure funding.

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Although most of the large projects described for Metro sales tax funding aren't in Long Beach, some previously announced projects would receive funds including a new Shoemaker Bridge, long-sought improvements at the Wardlow Metro station and some I-710 project related items. Metro will also give part of the sales tax revenue back to area cities (including LB) for local street projects to be decided by the cities. L.A. County Supervisor Don Knabe and Lakewood Councilmember (Vice Mayor) Diane Dubois voted against advancing the Metro tax plan basically indicating that it doesn't include sufficient large projects for SE L.A. County.

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On the same day as Metro advanced its proposed tax increase, Assemblyman Tony Mendoza (D, Cerritos) issued a press release indicating he will advance SB 1472 (a measure he "gutted and amended" in recent months) with amendments that would expand Metro's governing board from 14 to 22 voting members...including a new seat for the Mayor of Long Beach.

On May 17, Mayor Garcia's office issued a release indicating he would travel to Sacramento with the Council's state legislation committee chair, Al Austin, to "lobby for [a] Long Beach seat on METRO Board" and would discuss SB 1472 with Senators Mendoza and Lara. The release didn't mention that the new Metro Board seat would go to Garcia. "Long Beach is the second largest city in the County, and should absolutely have representation on the METRO Board. We look forward to discussing with Senators Mendoza and Lara how Long Beach can have a voice on the Board," said Garcia in the release.

Mayor Garcia cancelled a previously agreed appearance at the May 18 DeForest Park neighborhood association where he was scheduled to discuss Measure A [to our knowledge the only appearance at which he would face an opposing speaker], citing his trip to Sacramento to lobby for SB 1472.

On May 27, the state Senate Appropriations Committee, chaired by Sen. Lara, advanced SB 1472 "as amended"...but (to our knowledge) the text of the amendments wasn't visible online (on www.leginfo.ca.gov) until after the Committee's May 27 voted action. The bill as now amended is visible at this link.

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On June 14, Councilman Al Austin agendized a brief written report on his Sacramento trip (a condition of receiving reimbursement for the trip) stating that he had "traveled to Sacramento with Mayor Robert Garcia for meetings regarding SB 1472, which would add two new seats to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) Board of Directors, and to discuss how Long Beach can have a voice on the Metro Board"...without mentioning getting a Metro Board seat for Garcia.

SB 1472 is now scheudled to come to the full Senate as currently amended for third reading enactment in the coming weeks.

The City of Long Beach has currently taken no position on SB 1472. The City Council, if it chooses to do so, could take a voted policy position on the proposed Metro sales tax increase.



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