Committee clears measure allowing San Diego voters to propose local tax for MTS

Assemblymember Alvarez presented AB 2,484 as a local‑control measure that would allow voters in the San Diego region to put a transactions‑and‑use tax (up to 0.5 percent) on the ballot specifically for the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS) and exclude any voter‑approved MTS tax from the state's cap on local taxes. "This bill does not create or impose a tax," Alvarez said. "It empowers voters and them alone to choose whether to authorize a local transactions and use tax dedicated to funding the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System."

Steven Whitburn, chair of the MTS board and a San Diego City Council member, described the system’s ridership recovery and said MTS faces a projected fiscal cliff by 2030 without new local revenue. "Without a sustainable funding solution, the people most impacted will be those who already face the greatest barriers to mobility," Whitburn testified.

The California Association of Realtors registered respectful opposition, questioning whether the Legislature should provide a special statutory exemption for a single local agency. Committee members asked whether alternative local mechanisms (including Prop 218 parcel‑tax processes) could address the same problems; Alvarez and MTS witnesses said a voter initiative path that clarifies the local authority and exempts the measure from the cap helps planning and preserves local choice.

The committee voted to pass AB 2,484 out of committee to the Local Government Committee with a recorded vote of 6–1.

Next steps: The bill advances to the Local Government Committee for further consideration; the author and local officials said they would continue outreach and technical work on the measure and potential ballot language.