As new reports showed a rise in drug overdose deaths and crime on the Los Angeles County transit system, a Metro official went to Sacramento to tell lawmakers that the agency is projecting an operating deficit of $400 million for fiscal year 2025, rising to $1 billion in fiscal year 2026.
On Monday, I heard more support for this hypothesis. Metro’s executive officer for government relations, Michael Turner, testified at a joint informational hearing of the Assembly and Senate transportation committees on “How to Bring Back and Build Transit Ridership in California.
The state constitution, thanks to Proposition 13, requires local tax increases to go on the ballot. As interpreted by the courts, general taxes require approval by a simple majority. Special taxes, that is, taxes that raise revenue for specific purposes, require a two-thirds vote. So it’s entirely likely that Metro’s “long-term” plan over the “next couple of years” includes advocating for ACA 1 to pass. As a constitutional amendment, ACA 1 would need a two-thirds vote in each house of the legislature to get on the ballot, and then it would need a simple majority of the electorate to pass.