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Marijuana, sales tax and streetcars rejected in California local ballot measures
June 3, 2015
By Josh Altic
On June 2, 2015, local voters in California decided two measures concerning medical marijuana dispensaries (MMDs), one county sales tax measure and a bond measure to fund a new streetcar route in Sacramento. All four were defeated.
Marijuana:
Riverside City, Measure A
Yucca Valley Town, Measure X
In Riverside, the city council opposed Measure A, which was designed by proponents to allow and regulate one MMD per 30,000 residents, amounting to about 10 facilities. Ultimately, the voters sided against the dispensary advocates and owners, with over 60 percent voting against the initiative. In the town of Yucca Valley, city officials worked together with MMD owners to develop a "Negotiated Measure"—Measure X. It was designed to allow one MMD per 10,000 residents, amounting to two facilities for Yucca Valley. Despite the compromise between the town and pro-marijuana activists, the result was the same; the measure was rejected, with about 57 percent of electors voting against it.[1][2]
Sacramento streetcar funding:
If Sacramento wants to move forward with a proposed $150 million streetcar route going from West Sacramento through downtown to the convention center, it will have to find a new source for $38 million in local funding. Voters rejected Measure A—a special district bond and tax measure designed to help fund the streetcar route. Measure A required a two-thirds (66.67%) vote, but it failed to get approval from even a simple majority.[3]
About half of the funding for the project would have been provided by the federal government, with the other half coming from local sources. The 1,214 voters in the special district that voted on Measure A decided the fate of more than half of the proposed local funding.[3][4]
Sonoma County sales tax:
Sonoma County supervisors asked voters to approve a 0.25-percent general sales tax, instead of a special tax, to fund transportation and road improvements in the county. By selecting a general-fund tax, the county avoided the two-thirds (66.67%) vote required for a sales tax to be earmarked for a specific purpose in California. Voters, however, decisively rejected Measure A, with more than 62 percent of votes cast against the tax.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Yucca Valley Town, "Staff Report on Medical Marijuana Initiative," accessed March 19, 2015
- ↑ Riverside County Elections Office, "Measure 'A' Voter Information Pamphlet," accessed April 28, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 City of Sacramento Elections Office, "Measure B Information," accessed March 30, 2015
- ↑ Planetizen, "Sacramento Streetcar Funding Reaches Key Goal," April 16, 2015
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