Voters in Sonoma and Napa counties will vote in June to decide on a sales tax aimed at funding the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, or SMART, system.
The measure will be put on the ballot after the Marin County Board of Supervisors yesterday approved the initiative. The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors is expected to follow suit next month.
The existing quarter-cent retail transaction and use tax is set to expire in 2029. If voters approve the ballot initiative, the tax would be extended for 30 years without increasing the rate. But voters from both counties would have to approve it.
According to a citizens group supporting the initiative – Friends of SMART – the transit authorities Board of Directors could have approved the ballot initiative on their own, but only by a two-thirds majority. With a citizens initiative, a simple majority can approve extending the tax to fund SMART.
Nearly 71,000 voters in Sonoma and Napa counties signed a petition supporting the ballot measure.
