back
to vtaridersunion.org main page | Santa Clara VTA | Riders Union |
|
SB 264 is a bill in the California State Legislature written by Senator Elaine Alquist (District 13) of San Jose. It was introduced in to the California State Legislature on February 14, 2007. The bill, if passed, would authorize the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) to place a 1/8-cent sales tax (or multiples of 1/8-cent) on the ballot for voter approval in a future election. Such a sales tax proposal, if approved by 2/3 of voters in Santa Clara County, would go toward "transit facilities and services" and would have to last for "a specified amount of time."
According to analysis from the California State Board of Equalization (46K Adobe Acrobat PDF), a 1/8-cent sales tax would raise nearly $40 million annually.
Who Currently Supports SB 264?
Besides SCVTARU, Who Currently Opposes SB 264?
Initial source for bill support and opposition: notes from the July 3, 2007 Assembly committee hearing on SB 264Why Does SCVTARU Oppose SB 264?
There are several reasons why SCVTARU officially opposes SB 264:
As much as SCVTARU should support public transit funding, we cannot support such funding for a transit agency like VTA with well-documented financial problems and lack of real accountability.
SB 264 is currently in the State Assembly for a second reading by all Assemblymembers. On July 3, the bill passed the State Assembly's Committee on Local Government by a 5-2 vote.
Margaret Okuzumi, Executive Director of BayRail Alliance, testified at the July 3 Committee on Local Government hearing in Sacramento. SCVTARU sent a letter expressing opposition to SB 264 to all Committee members, which included Assemblymember Sally Lieber (22nd District). Assemblymember Lieber's district includes Mountain View, Sunnyvale, western Santa Clara, Cupertino, and much of North San Jose between I-880 and Santa Clara.
Lieber voted to support the bill.
However, Lieber's support of SB 264 was on the condition that
State Senator Alquist agree to support a request that Lieber will make
to the Bureau of State Audits asking them to audit the Valley
Transportation Authority. State Senator Alquist promised to do this,
saying, "You have my word". Otherwise, Lieber would have killed the
bill in committee.
This is sheer political
brilliance on Assemblymember Lieber's part for two reasons:
A
state audit of VTA will prove interesting, as surely will happen now
with a local senator (Alquist) and Assemblymember (Lieber) making the
request for the state to do so.
The Bureau
of State Audits is able to do not only financial audits, but
"performance audits" that examine government operations.
On
June 17, SCVTARU wrote our SB 264 opposition letter to all State
Assemblymembers
and State Senators representing Santa Clara County. The
letter
also went to the State Assembly's Committee On Local Government.
A month later, SCVTARU received a letter from Senator Abel Maldonado (15th District) (21K Adobe Acrobat PDF) expressing his vote opposing SB 264 in the State Senate. The full text of that letter is below:
July 12,2007
Eugene Bradley, Founder
Santa Clara VTA Riders Union
P.O. Box 390069
Mountain View, CA 94039-0069
Dear Mr. Bradley:
Thank you for taking time to contact my office to express the SCVTARU's opposition to
Senate Bill 264 (Alquist), which authorizes the Santa Clara Valley Transportation
Authority (SCVTA), with the approval of 2/3 of the electorate of the County, to impose a
1/8 cent sales tax for the purpose of funding transportation projects. Your input on this
issue is important to me.
You will be happy to know that we are in agreement on this issue. I had the opportunity
to vote against SB 264 when it was approved by the full Senate on May 24. This
measure was referred to the Assembly for their action and it is currently pending a vote
by the full Assembly.
Again, thank you for your letter. Please continue to keep me apprised of issues of
importance to you.
Sincerely,
ABEL MALDONADO
Senator, 15th District
As for members of the State Assembly representing Santa Clara County:
Assemblymember Jim Beall (24th District - San Jose) responded to our letter on June 19 (25K Adobe Acrobat PDF)...
June 19,2007
Mr. Eugene Bradley
PO Box 390069
Mountain View, CA 94039-0069
Dear Mr. Bradley:
Thank you for taking the time to contact my office. Your comments
regarding SB 264 are very important to me. At this time, I have not
taken a position on this bill. Over the next several weeks, my
colleagues in the State Assembly and I will analyze and discuss the
merits or this bill. This discussion, as well as the public comments I
receive from concerned residents like you, will help me formulate my
position in the future. Again, I greatly appreciate your letter and I
will consider your comments when I vote on this bill.
To receive updates on bills through out this Session and sign up for
my monthly newsletter visit: http://www.assembly.ca.gov/beall
Best Regards,
Jim Beall
Assemblymember, 24th District
As of June 30, 2007, Beall's was the only response we received from a member of the State Assembly on SB 264 so far. Assemblymember Beall represents Campbell, Saratoga, southwestern San Jose, eastern Santa Clara, and northeastern portions of San Jose.
Information on how to contact Assemblymembers Beall and Lieber - or your respective State Assemblymember - for opposing SB 264 is in in the next section.
Step 1
Call
Governor Schwarzenegger at 916-445-2841 ...
Step 2
Contact your Santa Clara County representatives in the California State Assembly. They are listed below in alphabetical order, with their Sacramento office and email address listed:
Not sure which State Assemblymember represents you? Visit the Santa Clara County Registrar's Office (http://www.sccgov.org/), click on "Find Your Elected Representatives" and give your street address in the form provided. Or, call the Santa Clara County registrar's office at (408)299-8683 between 9am and 5pm weekdays. Give the operator your street address and request the mailing address, phone number, and fax number of the State Assemblymember who represents you.
Talking Points To Help You Defeat SB 264
This page will be updated as circumstances and facts warrant.
SCVTARU members Margaret Okuzumi and Dale Warner contributed to this report.
back
to vtaridersunion.org main page