Measure B: San Diego County Health & Safety Act

Big picture

Measure B, officially called the San Diego County Health & Safety Act, is a citizen-led, countywide half-cent sales tax that would generate funding for healthcare, childcare, food security, public safety, such as wildfire prevention and local solutions to the Tijuana River sewage crisis.

What a 'Yes' means

A “yes” vote would authorize the County of San Diego to impose a half-cent sales-tax increase, creating a dedicated local revenue source for the proposed areas of funding.

What a 'No' means

A “no” vote means there would be no new sales-tax revenue, and there would be continued reliance on existing or other funding sources for the proposed areas.

How it would work

If approved, proponents estimate the sales tax would raise about $400 million each year. According to the proposal, the funds would go toward the following:

• 60% for healthcare, childcare, food security and other services for families; 
• 22.5% for unspecified fixes to the Tijuana River sewage crisis; 
• 17.5% for public safety, wildfire prevention and emergency response. 

Spending would be restricted to the categories specified in the measure and an annual audit would be conducted to report expenditures.

Exemptions: Certain aircraft purchases, property sold for use outside of the county under some conditions and certain pre-existing leases, among others. Current state and local taxes would also be excluded from Measure B tax calculations. 

Cost: The sales tax is estimated to generate anywhere between $400 million and $450 million per year. Proponents of the measure say up to 1.5% would go to administrative and oversight work. The tax has no end date.

Why is it on the ballot?

Measure B is a citizen-led initiative that organizers placed on the ballot after submitting more than the required 103,000 signatures to the county. The proposal came from a coalition of labor and healthcare groups, nonprofit organizations and environmental advocates that raised concerns about longstanding local issues at a time when federal and state funding cuts have left the county with budget gaps to fill.

What do supporters and opponents say?