California State Supreme Court rules against Measure A; transportation/highway improvements in jeopardy.SAN JOSE San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 1995--The California State Supreme Court ruled today that Santa Clara Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. County's Measure A, a one-half cent transportation sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. , is invalid. Meeting in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , the Court ruled 5 to 2 against the measure. "The Court's decision will negatively impact Silicon Valley's economic competitiveness and the quality of life in Santa Clara County," said Gary Burke, President of the Santa Clara Valley
The Santa Clara Valley is a valley just south of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California in the United States. Manufacturing Group, the trade industry group which led the Measure A effort. "The situation created by the Court's failure to uphold the local transportation tax will be severely aggravated by the fiscal crisis at the state and federal levels," Burke added. Congress is proposing cuts to transit funding in the upcoming fiscal year by more than $600 million. "Without local matching funds Noun 1. matching funds - funds that will be supplied in an amount matching the funds available from other sources cash in hand, finances, funds, monetary resource, pecuniary resource - assets in the form of money , Santa Clara County stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in potential state and federal funds Federal Funds Funds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements. Notes: These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve over the next several years," Burke said. David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett Packard and a member of the Citizens Coalition for Traffic Relief, said, "The impact of the decision is devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. to our quality of life and economic future. The traffic in Silicon Valley weakens our competitive edge and the congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. results in an estimated 15,000 lost hours of work each day. The Court's decision means that traffic relief is nowhere in sight." Initiated by businesses, labor, environmentalists, and community and senior organizations, Measure A would have extended the life of a 1984 one-half cent sales tax increase in order to generate $3.5 billion over the next 20 years for transportation projects. Margie Fernandes, Chairperson of the Transportation Agency Board of Directors, expressed her regret that the Court ruled against Measure A. She said, "Residents of Santa Clara County will be forced to spend more time in traffic and air quality will worsen. I'm really worried about the future economy of the valley." She added, "Our ability to provide a good transportation system is now seriously hampered." The Court's decision, at best, means that there will be a substantial delay in most of the Measure A projects in Santa Clara County and ultimately some may never be built. Without a local revenue source, many of the projects designated as part of Measure A are in jeopardy. These projects include building the Tasman light rail line, converting highway 87 into a full freeway, synchronizing the lights on all eight county expressways, upgrading CalTrain service, linking light rail to the BART system in Alameda County and a host of other rail and road projects. The Citizens Coalition for Traffic Relief, which put Measure A on the ballot in 1992, will be reviewing future options for transportation funding. CONTACT: Santa Clara Valley Manufacturing Group Gary Burke, 408/496-6801 or Local Transportation Authority Gary Fazzino, 415/857-4321 or Transportation Agency Norma Payne, 408/321-7525 |
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