San Francisco Bay area: local revenue measure: public transit funding.

Aimed at shaping a multi-county Bay Area transit finance framework, the measure authored by Wiener and Arreguín with coauthors would create a Public Transit Revenue Measure District that covers Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara counties, and the City and County of San Francisco, and would be governed by the same board that runs the Metropolitan Transportation Commission. The district would be a separate legal entity staffed by the commission’s personnel, not subject to the Cortese-Knox-Hertzberg reorganization act, and would operate a 14-year retail transactions and use tax (RTUT) set at 0.5 percent districtwide, with a 1 percent rate in San Francisco, contingent on voter approval at the November 3, 2026 statewide election.

The measure prescribes a detailed revenue-distribution framework intended to fund regional and local transit operations across multiple agencies, after administrative costs. Revenues would be transferred from the district to the commission for allocation to operators and to other specified transit agencies, with allocations designated for ongoing operations, fare programs, accessibility initiatives, mapping and wayfinding, and regional development efforts. The plan includes explicit MOE requirements—operators must maintain a baseline level of funding for operations, adjustable only under defined conditions—and prohibits reducing operating funding purely to finance other priorities, unless permitted by specified exceptions.

It also establishes a robust accountability apparatus centered on a two-phase financial efficiency review conducted by a third-party consultant. Phase one would identify cost-saving measures implemented since 2020 and examine operators’ real property holdings to map redevelopment opportunities; phase two, contingent on voter approval of the tax, would propose a menu of cost-saving actions and a regional development and financing strategy for leveraging operator assets. An oversight committee would review and adopt each phase’s analyses, and operators would be required to implement phase one commitments by mid-2026 and, if the tax passes, adopt phase two plans and implementation schedules. The act creates an ad hoc adjudication mechanism two years after approval to consider petitions alleging inconsistent application of standards, with potential funding-withholding actions and a defined path to cure, subject to legislative notification and review.

Beyond governance and funding, the measure would amend existing law to authorize the RTUT framework in the specified counties and to set incremental rates in San Mateo and San Francisco, including transitional provisions and caps on combined rates in San Francisco. It adds a temporary reporting duty on ridership impacts of planned regional projects, with a sunset and repeal schedule, and it includes severability and state-mandated-reimbursement provisions should costs be deemed state-mandated. The policy context centers on establishing regional coordination for funding, enhancing rail connectivity and transit-oriented development, and increasing transparency in how revenues are allocated and spent across agencies such as BART, Muni, Caltrain, AC Transit, and related operators, while preserving existing discretionary funding in non-district areas.