By: Supervisor Sue Frost
Since the election on November 8th, I have seen a tremendous amount of analysis from people about how it will impact things on a national level with regards to the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. But on the state and local level, there were some issues that were voted on that will have major importance to us on the local level that I have seen very little coverage on – even by local papers. For my monthly article, I want to highlight the three most impactful ones so that you can know what to expect. And even though the votes are still being counted, each of these three I am going to describe below have enough votes counted for us to know with high confidence how they are going to wind up.
First is Measure A, which was a local vote for all residents of Sacramento County that would have raised the sales take by a ½ cent per $1.00 spent, raising around $212,500,000 annually until 2063 to spend on various transportation purposes like roads, public transit, vehicle emission reduction. Normally when local taxes are voted on, if the measure discloses exactly where the money will be spent (which was the case here) it needs to get 66% or more votes in favor in order to pass. But a quirk in the law allowed this one to only need to get above 50% in order to pass, which made it seem like a foregone conclusion that it would easily get enough votes in order to pass. But in a huge surprise, even though the “yes” campaign spent well over $2,000,000 the measure appears to have failed – which will likely put a stop in the near future to more local transportation taxes showing up on the ballot.
Second is Measure B, which was a local vote in Sacramento County to allow the County to tax cannabis. This appears to have passed by well over the 50% needed, which will very likely result in cannabis dispensaries soon being allowed in unincorporated Sacramento County. The County Board of Supervisors will now need to have a meeting, likely in the first part of 2023, to talk about what sort of tax to place on cannabis operations, as well as what sort of restrictions to put on cannabis dispensaries (such as how many to allow, where they can be located, what hours they can operate, etc.). I will be sure to alert you before this meeting will take place with details so you can make your voice heard.
Lastly is Proposition 31, which was a statewide vote that would ban the sale of most flavored tobacco products across California. This passed overwhelmingly, which means these products will soon be banned. Sacramento County earlier this year put a ban in place in the unincorporated county, but these products could still be bought in neighboring cities like Citrus Heights, Folsom, and Roseville. With the ban in place, these cities will not be allowed to sell these products anymore.
Thank you for reading – and as always, if you want to contact me, call me at 916-874-5491, or e-mail me at SupervisorFrost@saccounty.net.
Sacramento County Supervisor Sue Frost represents the 4th District, which includes the communities of Citrus Heights, Folsom, Orangevale, Antelope, North Highlands, Rio Linda, Elverta, and Rancho Murieta.
