To: Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisors John Gioia and Diane Burgis
Report Title: CONSIDER whether to place a 5-year general Countywide transactions and use tax (sales tax) of 0.5% or 0.625% on the June 2026 ballot to protect local services impacted by the severe Federal cuts and provide direction to the County Administrator to seek statutory authority to raise the sales tax cap for Contra Costa County.
?Recommendation of the County Administrator ? Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
PROVIDE DIRECTION on whether to place a 5-year general Countywide transactions and use tax (sales tax) of 0.5% or 0.625% on the June 2026 ballot to protect local services and direct the County Administrator and County's legislative advocates to seek statutory authority to raise the sales tax cap for Contra Costa County.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No immediate fiscal impact. The Board of Supervisors is being asked to consider whether to provide direction to take the necessary steps to place a 5-year general sales tax on the June 3, 2026 ballot. The estimated annual revenue generated from a 0.5% sales tax is $122 million and $151 million from a 0.625% sales tax. According to the County Elections Office, the estimated election costs for the June 2026 measure is approximately $1.2 million funded from the County General Fund and reimbursable out of the new revenue generated by the measure, if passed.
BACKGROUND:
If a 5-year general sales tax measure is included on the June 3, 2026 primary election ballot and approved by voters, additional County revenues are estimated to be roughly $122 million annually for the next five years for a 0.5% sales tax and $151 million for a 0.625% sales tax.
H.R. 1., passed in July 2025, enacted the largest cuts in our country's history to the Medicaid and Federal food assistance programs. This law severely cuts Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California) in order to fund a multi-trillion dollar income tax cut for the wealthiest Americans.
H.R.1 ...
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