The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors yesterday voted 3-2 not to place a bill that would raise sales tax by one half-cent on the November ballot, the Los Angeles Times reports. Revenues estimated as high as $40 billion would be put towards transit improvements across the county.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a staunch supporter of the proposal, wrote the following:
“No matter how you cut it, the taxpayers and voters will be the ultimate losers if the board refuses to place the MTA measure on the general election ballot… The people of Los Angeles County should have the right to decide for themselves whether they want to invest in their future.”
The board disagreed, with Supervisors Mike Antonovich, Don Knabe and Gloria Molina (who abstained) making the majority. LAist.com quotes Molina as calling the proposal a “nice concocted scheme… And every single step of the way it has made arrangements at how they were going to get more for one side of town versus the other side.”
The measure may still make the November ballot, but on a costly, separate ballot unless the Metropolitan Transportation Authority makes good on its promise to take the issue to court and force the vote onto the ballot.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor