"Yes" votes narrowly lead for Measure B lead in early returns.
Measure B would allow the county of San Diego to impose a half-cent sales tax increase. Its revenue would fund healthcare, food security and other family services, public safety and fixes to the Tijuana River sewage crisis.
The measure earmarks funds for stipends to licensed childcare providers, vouchers for families, healthcare services for uninsured low-income residents, infrastructure projects to stop sewage flows in the Tijuana River and improving the regional emergency 911 communications system, among other things.
Why it matters
Counties in California, including San Diego County, are using local resources to support residents facing gaps in healthcare, food assistance and childcare services because of federal funding cuts. The county budget faces an estimated $300 million annual loss in federal funding for programs like Medicaid, Medi-Cal, and CalFresh, county board chairperson Terra Lawson-Remer has said.
At the border, as Mexico and the U.S. work to stop sewage spills, the county is also exploring an extra line of defense: building and maintaining wastewater treatment infrastructure to treat flows into the Tijuana River, stopping year-round pollution that becomes airborne and has made some people sick. Ongoing funding would be needed, an expense the board majority believes is worth exploring.
Supporters of Measure B said the measure would create dependable, local funding at a time when federal funding is less reliable.
"We have almost a million people that are signed up for Medi-Cal, that number is dwindling. And so we want to make sure people are taken care of," said San Diego County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe. "Tijuana River Valley crisis, it has been a long time that folks have been dealing with---up and down the coast---have been dealing with those issues."
Opponents worry that Measure B has no expiration clause, and flexibility to be amended if and when Congress replenishes funding for services.
"The tax exists in perpetuity. And so once it's voted in, it's there, it's permanent. And there's no opportunity for voters to weigh in, whether it's ten or twenty or thirty years down the line, with what we call a sunset clause," said Mark Kersey, president of the San Diego County Taxpayers Association.
By the numbers
Measure B would generate about $400 million each year, according to proponents. Most funding, or 60%, would go toward healthcare and other family services; 22.5% would go toward Tijuana River sewage crisis fixes and 17.5% is earmarked for public safety, wildfire prevention and emergency response.
Closer look
Measure B isn’t the only sales tax on the ballot in the county. Voters in Oceanside, Santee and Solana Beach are also considering whether to approve sales tax increases in their cities.
But their passage in this election is complicated because voters may be reluctant to approve multiple tax hikes at the same time. Such was the case during the November 2024 election, when voters rejected the countywide Measure G and San Diego city Measure E.
Here is a breakdown of other local proposals:
Measure C in Solana Beach: A tax to increase the local hotel and lodging tax from 13% to 14%. The tax applies only to visitors who stay in local hotels or lodging to fund essential public services and facilities. It would generate an estimated $250,000 per year, according to a city analysis.
Measure S in Oceanside: A half-cent sales tax, projected to generate about $20 million annually, would support repairing streets, beaches and aging public infrastructure, modernizing emergency facilities and making traffic improvements. The tax would sunset after 10 years.
Measure Y in Santee: A 1% general sales tax, which would raise about $14 million each year, would pay for fixing streets, upgrading fire stations, reducing flood risks and maintaining parks and sidewalks. The tax would sunset after 10 years.
