San Diego County Sales Tax Measure Seeks $450 Million Annual Revenue

San Diego County voters will decide whether to raise local sales taxes by 0.5 percent, a move that supporters estimate will generate between $400 million and $450 million annually. The revenue is designated for public health and safety initiatives, including efforts to stop toxic sewage pollution from the Tijuana River and strengthen wildfire prevention. The measure, known as the San Diego Health & Safety Act, also aims to protect affordable healthcare access and expand child care support for working families. Its proponents argue the tax is necessary after state and federal leaders failed to resolve the pollution issue for decades.

Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, a Republican from San Diego, criticized the timing of the proposal earlier this year. He described the move as foolish given that costs are currently rising for residents. The ballot language for the tax measure specifies that it will last until voters end it. It also requires citizen oversight, public spending disclosure, and independent annual audits to manage the new funds.

Voters will also consider a second measure focused on county governance. This proposal would amend the county charter to establish an Independent Ethics Commission, an Independent Budget Analyst, and an Independent Program Auditor. These new roles would report directly to the Board of Supervisors. The measure also seeks to update outdated rules and require public disclosure of spending and performance data across county departments.

A key provision of the governance measure would increase the term limit for county supervisors from two terms to three. Other elected officials, including the sheriff and district attorney, would keep their current term limits, which are currently unlimited. The requirement that supervisors reside in the districts they represent would remain unchanged. Supporters describe the reforms as a long-term effort to build a more accountable government for future generations.

Board members reached the ballot through a split vote in May. Supervisors Paloma Aguirre, Terra Lawson-Remer, and Monica Montgomery Steppe voted to place the measure on the November ballot. Their colleagues, Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond, opposed the placement. Lawson-Remer, who proposed the reforms last spring, stated the changes were not intended to protect or attack specific politicians.

Desmond recently voiced support for the new oversight bodies, including the ethics commission and program auditor. However, he criticized the extension of supervisor terms. He called the three-term limit the worst form of politics driven by self-serving politicians. The board also rejected Anderson’s counterproposal by a 3-2 vote. Anderson’s version would have eliminated the expansion of term limits and made oversight more independent from political influence.

The board also rejected Anderson’s motion to place both his proposal and the main measure on the ballot. That motion failed on a 3-2 vote. Anderson’s alternative included provisions to protect the selection of contracts from political machinations and to allow the board to confirm and remove senior staff hired by the county’s chief executive.

Ballots for the November election will include questions for both measures. The language for the charter reform asks if the county charter should be amended to establish the new commissions, increase term limits, and update terminology. The sales tax question asks if voters adopt the measure authorizing the half-cent increase for the specified public health and safety projects.