EXCERPT: Sacramento-area power brokers have agreed to a compromise over the details of a proposed $8.5 billion transportation tax, coalescing key political support behind a measure that appears headed for the November ballot.
If approved, the tax would fund dozens of transportation projects in Sacramento County, from freeway interchange improvements to the Capital Southeast Connector expressway proposed to connect Elk Grove, Rancho Cordova and Folsom. Also in the proposed funding plan are a Regional Transit light rail extension to Sacramento International Airport, maintenance of the American River Parkway and new bridges across the Sacramento and American rivers…
Michael Quigley, executive director of the California Alliance for Jobs and a co-chair of the tax measure campaign, said the deal is “a very significant agreement both politically and policy-wise.”
“It brings all the major stakeholders together and lays out a path forward for transportation projects that mitigates their impacts while also giving assurances that the voter-approved expenditure plan will be honored,” Quigley said.