A 5-county sales tax measure to head-off the 'fiscal cliffs' facing Bay Area transit agencies may appear on the November 2026 ballot in what would likely be Regional Measure 4. A signature-gathering effort could reduce the voter threshold to 50% + 1.
"The passage this month of California Senate Bill 63, authored by state Sen. Scott Wiener and now awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature, should pave the way for a one-of-a-kind ballot measure shared between five Bay Area counties — including San Francisco — in November 2026," reported Adam Shanks for the San Francisco Examiner on Sept. 24.
The Bay Area has passed three "regional measures" under the coordination of the region's metropolitan planning organization, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), all designated for transportation, since 1988, and all remarkably similar as each increased tolls on the region's seven state-owned bridges. In fact, one of the bill's two primary co-authors, Sen. Scott Wiener, had initially introduced a bill to enable a bridge toll hike measure similar to the first three successful regional measures but he suspended it in August 2023 amidst opposition.
"If approved, the measure would allow the counties to impose an additional sales tax of 1% in San Francisco and 0.5% in other counties to help fund public-transit operations," added Shanks. The other four counties are San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa.
The transit agencies that would see a share of the tax revenue include the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency, BART, AC Transit, Caltrain, SF Bay Ferry and Golden Gate Transit.
Related in Planetizen: "SF’s Muni Transit Slashes Budget as it Approaches Fiscal Cliff," September 4, 2025; "California Revives $750M Loan to Save Bay Area Transit," September 14, 2025.
Two-thirds or majority vote threshold?
In California, sales tax ballot measures placed on the ballot by local governments designed for a specific purpose require a two-thirds threshold for passage. However, Shanks notes that the bill would enable proponents to reduce that threshold to 50% +1 by gathering signatures to qualify for the ballots in the five counties, thus making it a citizens' initiative.
According to a California Legislative Analyst's Office file dated August 14, 2025, "[r]ecent court decisions... have allowed voter-proposed special taxes to be approved with a majority vote."
Gov. Newsom has until Oct. 12 to sign the bill.
Hat tip to MTC news headlines.
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