Move L.A. and Partners Float Vision2020 Electrification Sales Tax Proposal

Move L.A., the non-profit credited with planting the seeds for Metro transportation tax ballot Measures R and M, has its sights on an ambitious new proposal. "Vision 2020" goals include ending air pollution and abating climate change. Among proposed Vision 2020 revenues would be a four-county sales tax; the four counties - L.A., Riverside, San Bernardino, and Orange - are the ones included in the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Vision 2020 was the subject of a half-day conference this morning, hosted by Move L.A., CALSTART, and others. In her keynote at the event, California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols stressed the need for a "massive transformation of our transportation system" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by almost 99 percent. How to get there? "Electrify everything."

The Vision 2020 proposal would go a long way towards electrification.

At this point, Vision 2020 is a "straw man" proposal - an early draft expected to change quite a bit as it becomes realized.

Move L.A.'s straw man proposal aims for ~$1.2 to ~$1.4 billion annually in revenue from a mix of sources:

• ~$700 million/year from a quarter-cent sales tax
• ~$200 million/year from a commercial truck registration fee
• ~$300 million/year from container fees
• later year tolls on truck-only corridors

Move L.A.'s rough spending plan shows ~$60 billion over 30 years for:

• ~$18-20 billion for emissions reductions - primarily including incentives for clean trucks
• ~$18-20 billion for modernization of goods movement - including funding truck-only lanes on several priority highway corridors I-710, I-60, I-605, I-15 - also improvements to ports and airports
• ~$10-14 billion for Metrolink - roughly half for capital expenditures and half for operations - including the electrification and modernization to provide enhanced service, also readiness for high-speed rail along appropriate corridors
• ~$10 billion for local county commission projects

There are plenty of milestones the Vision 2020 proposal would need to clear. First, the state legislature would need to give the South Coast Air Quality Management District the authority to raise money via a sales tax initiative. When the initiative goes to the voters, presumably in 2020, it would need to pass by a two-thirds majority.

Find more details on Vision 2020 at the Move L.A. website.