It’s been 10 years since a countywide transportation sales tax, Measure J, was supported by 66% of voters — but lost anyway because it came up just 450 votes shy of the required two-thirds majority.

It was a stunning example of minority rule, exacerbated by a conservative Board of Supervisors unwilling to put the tax on the ballot a second time.

But this year, SLO County voters may have another chance to pass a half-cent sales tax measure that would bring much-needed transportation dollars to our county.

Here’s why we support it:

Due to the loss of Measure J, over the past nine years SLO County missed out on an estimated $700 million in transportation funds — $270 million in tax revenue, and millions more from state grants available only to “self-help counties” that pass a transportation tax.

Projects that could have been completed, such as the “auxiliary lane” on Highway 101 through the Shell Beach straits, are just beginning or are still awaiting funding.

Meanwhile, we wait in rush-hour traffic, dodge monster potholes and negotiate dangerous intersections that local agencies can’t afford to fix.

All the while, other counties have completed ambitious projects by collecting their share of the $200 million per year the state allocates to self-help cities and counties.

There are two nearly identical efforts to get a tax on the November ballot.

SLOCOG — the countywide Council of Governments — is behind one.

The agency has been contemplating a tax measure for years but held off to avoid conflicting with cities that had their own sales tax measures on the ballot. Finally, its time has come, but due to Proposition 13, the SLOCOG measure would require supermajority approval to pass, just as it did in 2016.

The other campaign is being waged by a citizens group headed up by Jorge Aguilar, who chaired the Measure J campaign in 2016. Better Roads For All is trying to collect 18,000 signatures of local registered voters by April 20.

The two proposals have the same goals, but there is one huge difference: The citizens initiative requires only a simple majority — 50% plus 1 — to pass.

Why the distinction?

Prop. 13 and other tax-reform measures were intended to limit government’s ability to impose taxes and fees for defined purposes, such as road improvements, by requiring a two-thirds vote to pass special taxes.

Courts have ruled that it does not apply to private citizens; measures they place on the ballot through the initiative process require only simple majority approval.

Since the Better Roads initiative stands a better chance of passing, if it makes it on the ballot SLOCOG is expected to drop its effort.

Citizen-sponsored tax measures — referred to as a “loophole” by tax opponents and a “workaround” by others — have been successful in several California jurisdictions. That’s how LA passed its mansion tax, which imposes a fee on real estate transactions over $5.3 million, with the revenue going to affordable housing.

But it should surprise no one that a backlash is underway — and LA’s mansion tax is now the poster child for California taxation run amok.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and other organizations have submitted signatures to the state to qualify a Local Taxpayer Protection Act for the November 2026 ballot that would require two-thirds majority to approve any special tax, regardless of how it gets on the ballot. It isn’t clear whether it would apply to taxes approved in November.

As of Dec. 31, 2025, the Taxpayer Protection campaign had received nearly $6 million in contributions. Ironically, if the measure qualifies for the ballot, it will require only a simple majority to pass.

This could still be our best opportunity to finally pass a transportation tax that will generate revenue for both regional projects and local road maintenance and repair.

It’s understandable that Californians would be averse to tax increases; we already pay much higher taxes than most Americans. But requiring a two-thirds majority is too high a bar, especially for road improvements that are so vital to public safety.

And as satisfying as it may be to blame Sacramento’s misplaced priorities for our predicament, that gets us nowhere.

Here’s what we wrote back in 2016: “Flogging politicians over high-speed rail and bloated bureaucracies isn’t going to fix our roads. It also ignores the fact that gas taxes that fund road repairs and improvements are down on account of falling gasoline prices and more fuel-efficient cars.”

That’s even more true today.

It’s infuriating to have left $700 million on the table when a majority of voters were prepared to pay a little more in taxes for the good of the county.

We strongly urge registered voters to sign the petitions, which can be downloaded at the group’s website, betterroads4allsloco.com The site also lists locations for pickup and dropoff.

SLO County voters deserve another chance to decide whether they are willing to pay a small price — a SLOCOG consultant estimates the tax will cost residents $2.31 a week — to keep our roads safe.