AB 1223: Local Transportation Authority and Improvement Act: Sacramento Transportation Authority (Nguyen/Krell) has been introduced in this legislative session. As of April 2, it is still in the Assembly Local Government Committee.

“The bill would provide that the allowable expenditure categories for revenues from a tax imposed by STA include the construction, modernization, and improvement of infrastructure, as defined, that supports infill or transit-oriented development and would reduce vehicle miles traveled.” It would also allow Sacramento Transportation Authority (SacTA) to develop and operate toll facilities, and to impose taxes on areas of less than the entire county.

SacTA is currently operating under general state legislation, and the Measure A code that established the authority. The authority now wishes to make clear that expenditures which broaden the mission to more transportation and infrastructure projects that support transportation are within the purview of the authority.

It isn’t clear to me how the toll facilities ability would mesh with the Capitol Area Regional Tolling Authority (CARTA) which is intended to cover the SACOG region.

The less than-full-county voting area is similar to that implemented for SacRT, but does not require that two or more cities be adjacent, as does the SacRT legislation. The idea is the same, that some areas of the county will be opposed to any sales tax measure, no matter what it contains, so creating a measure that targets supporting areas makes sense.