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Politics & Government

LA County Voters to Decide on Sales Tax Extension

Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill authorizing the vote on a proposed extension of the Measure J tax, which voters approved in 2008.

Los Angeles County voters in November will officially get to decide whether a half-cent sales tax that funds local transportation projects should be extended from 30 years to 60 years.

Gov. Jerry Brown over the weekend signed a bill authorizing the vote on a proposed extension of the Measure R tax, which was approved by voters in 2008. The tax funds public transit projects, highway improvements, and bus operations.

The covered projects include extending a subway to Westwood, the Green Line to LAX and the Gold Line into the San Gabriel Valley and a new transit corridor along the San Diego (405) Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass.

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Brown's signature allows Metro to put a measure on the Nov. 6 county ballot asking voters to extend the tax's sunset from 2039 to 2069. The ballot measure was previously approved by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Board of Directors, and the county Board of Supervisors.

The ballot measure -- Measure J -- would require Metro to break ground on seven major transit projects and eight highway projects within five years instead of 20 years.

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Supporters of extending the tax include Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and the bill's sponsor, Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D- Los Angeles. The backers say extending the tax will allow Metro to accelerate projects, creating thousands of construction jobs and eventually easing traffic.

"We need to get these transportation projects underway now," Feuer said. "By signing AB 1446, the governor has agreed to empower L.A. County voters to jumpstart 250,000 jobs and break through traffic congestion that chokes our region."

Supervisor Mike Antonovich opposes the extending the tax, saying it prevents the transit agency from asking voters for money for projects that become important in the future.

The Bus Riders Union, an advocacy group for low-income and minority bus riders, also opposes the tax extension. The group says the accelerated transit project will come at the expense of bus service, which has been cut in recent years.

Tax measures require two-thirds voter approval to pass. Measure R received 67.1 percent of the vote in 2008.

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