At the March Public Policy Committee meeting, we heard a presentation from Gretchen Newsom with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) on a proposed regional sales tax ballot measure to help fund the recently adopted SANDAG Regional Plan. The proposal would increase the sales tax by ½ cent and is estimated to generate approximately $320 million annually for transportation improvements.
The Committee also discussed proposed changes to the way community planning groups operate. The changes are intended to make these advisory groups more representative of the communities which they represent. The Committee endorsed the changes which the Board subsequently also endorsed.
Additionally, the Committee made some changes to the observer reports, allowing observers to incorporate links to media articles to provide more background on a particular proposal so that the observer reports could be shorter and easier to do.