SANTA CLARA VTA RIDERS UNION P. O. Box 390069 Mountain View, CA 94039-0069 http://www.vtaridersunion.org/ NEWS RELEASE TO: Editor or News Assignment Desk or Transportation Reporter Press Contact (in alphabetical order): Eugene Bradley 24 hr. cell/pager (408)888-2208 email: eegenebradley@yahoo.com GROUP OPPOSES VEHICLE LICENSE SURCHARGE PROPOSAL Says Senate Bill 680 Is a "Stealth Tax" Disguised as "Congestion Relief" MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (June 14, 2005) – The Santa Clara VTA Riders Union (SCVTARU – http://www.vtaridersunion.org/), a transit advocacy and watchdog group in the South Bay, today announces its opposition to Senate Bill (SB) 680. SCVTARU is calling on concerned taxpayers to lobby Governor Schwarzenegger and the California State Legislature to veto the bill. SB 680 (http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/billtrack/billview.html?bill=sb_680), authored by State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) in February 2005, is currently in the State Assembly. What is Senate Bill (SB) 680? ------------------------------ If allowed to go in to law, SB 680 would enable a $5 surcharge on all motor vehicles registered in Santa Clara County. The $56 million in revenue the bill would raise during its eight (8)-year lifespan (as of July 2006) would go mainly towards road improvements. Specifically: * Coordinated traffic signals, ramp metering and so forth ($32 million) * Improvements to the expressway system ($16 million) * Litter removal and landscape restoration ($4 million) * Caltrain bullet cars or station enhancements ($4 million) SB 680 was originally introduced to the California State Legislature in February 2005. Every State Assembly member and State Senator representing Santa Clara County is a coauthor of this bill. Funding of SB 680 will be managed by the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA). What Do County Taxpayers Currently Pay For Road Maintenance? How Has The Revenue Been Spent? ------------------------------------------------------------- Research revealed that County taxpayers already pay for road improvements and congestion relief courtesy of the 1996 Measure B 1/2-cent Sales Tax. (http://www.co.santa-clara.ca.us/measureb/text_meas_a.htm). Specifically: * "Maintaining Streets and Filling Potholes: Improving local streets and filing potholes in all fifteen cities and on county roads and expressways by funding greatly needed street maintenance and repair." * "Traffic Signal Synchronization: Improving the signal timing on all eight county expressways - Almaden, Capitol, Central, Foothill, Lawrence, Montague, Oregon, and San Tomas." When SCVTARU group founder Eugene Bradley inquired to the VTA's Board of Directors at their May 5, 2005 Board meeting (http://www.vtaridersunion.org/vtameetings/vtaboard-05052005.html) about how the 1996 Measure B funding for road improvements was spent, he only received blank stares and silence from the Board members. "The Board's silence made it clear that the funding for road and traffic improvements was wasted," said Mr. Bradley on how the Board handled his inquiry. Why is SCVTARU Against SB 680? ------------------------------- In addition to its duties as a public transit advocacy group in the County, SCVTARU also serves as an independent citizen watchdog group for VTA. As residents and taxpayers of Santa Clara County, we are concerned about the ever-growing cost of living and doing business here. With that in mind, SB 680 is a classic example of a "stealth tax." (http://www.caltax.org/McCarthy-TimeStopStealthTaxScams6-4-04.pdf – 49K Adobe Acrobat PDF) Its main supporters, the Silicon Valley Leadership Group (SVLG – http://www.svlg.net/) never had their usual surveys nor did they place a measure on an election ballot asking voters on this new "surcharge." Instead, SVLG CEO Carl Guardino successfully lobbied State representatives of the County to place this bill in the Assembly. While County Supervisor Don Gage claims that the $5 surcharge "is no more than a cup of coffee," the fact that voters were never given any say on the surcharge makes SB 680 undemocratic – in other words, taxation without representation. Carefully disguised by its supporters as a "congestion relief" package, SB 680 is a regressive shakedown of small businesses and working families in Santa Clara County. Make no mistake: a new surcharge is a new tax. SB 680 will hurt seniors and those on low or fixed incomes the hardest. In particular, it hits residents in the northern and southern parts of Santa Clara County who are forced to drive an automobile due to VTA's fare hikes and service reductions since 2001. Given the current trend of naming things after the living, SCVTARU is calling SB 680 "Simitian's Shakedown." Every County resident already pays 1.25% in sales taxes that go to VTA to build and operate public transit and road improvements. A passed SB 680, when combined with proposals from the Willow Glen Neighborhood Association to raise business fees (http://sanjose.bizjournals.com/sanjose/stories/2005/05/09/story4.html) and the 1.25% in sales taxes to VTA, is the perfect incentive for more small businesses and working families to leave the County. Thus, SB 680 is another example of anti-business, anti-family legislation. The worst thing SCVTARU found about SB 680 is that the VTA will manage the funding. Remember that the VTA's Board of Directors – responsible for our tax dollars – are accountable to no one. You cannot run for a seat on the VTA Board, nor can you elect or recall a VTA Board member. In fact, at this time last year, the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury issued a scathing report against VTA calling for the disbanding of the Board of Directors. Given its nonexistent accountability to County taxpayers, the VTA cannot be trusted with another tax dollar – or penny. SCVTARU joins the California Taxpayers Association (http://www.caltax.org) and the California State Automobile Association (http://www.csaa.com/) in its stance against this anti-business, anti- family stealth tax that is SB 680. What Can Be Done To Stop SB 680? --------------------------------- Since every State Assembly member and State Senator representing Santa Clara County has coauthored this bill, clearly County taxpayers will need to lobby Governor Schwarzenegger the hardest. They can do so by calling the Governor via the Web at http://www.govmail.ca.gov/ or by phone at (916)445-2841. Taxpayers need to demand that Governor Schwarzenegger VETO SB 680 when it arrives at his desk. In addition, residents can also lobby their State Assembly members and/or State Senators against SB 680 thru the web via http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/directory/legislators.php. Residents can enter their ZIP code, click on the name of the State Assembly member or State Senator who represents them, then click Email. Residents simply request their representative to vote NO on SB 680 and then click the Send button. Concerned residents within Santa Clara County can also contact the County Registrar's office at (408)299-8683 during normal business hours to obtain this same information. You can follow the progress of SB 680 via our web site, http://www.vtaridersunion.org/archives/news/06022005.html. Additional talking points and tips for residents to fight SB 680 can be found there as well. ### About the Santa Clara VTA Riders Union -------------------------------------- Founded in October 2000 by Eugene Bradley, the Santa Clara VTA Riders Union is a grassroots-based organization dedicated to ensuring that elected officials improve and implement cost-effective, frequent, and reliable mass transit in Santa Clara County. Our web site is at www.vtaridersunion.org. We are based in Sunnyvale, CA. Our organization has absolutely no affiliation with, nor is endorsed by, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in any way whatsoever. Note to Editors and News Desks: More information on SCVTARU can be found at the following URLs: http://www.vtaridersunion.org/whoarewe/who.html http://www.vtaridersunion.org/PR