Sacramento ballot initiative proposes half-cent sales tax for streets and transit
A proposed Sacramento ballot initiative would impose a one-half-cent transactions-and-use tax on each dollar of taxable sales within the city and establish a dedicated local transportation funding program.
The measure, titled the City of Sacramento Safe Streets and Affordable Transit Ordinance of 2026, was filed with the Sacramento City Clerk on Feb. 20, 2026, according to the city’s ballot-title-and-summary record.
The filing is a proposal, not an enacted tax. The available official materials do not establish that the initiative has qualified for the ballot or that a final city or county certification decision has been made.
What the proposal would do
The measure would apply a tax of 0.5 cent per dollar of taxable sales in the City of Sacramento. It is described as a transactions-and-use tax and would create a local transportation funding program.
Its stated purpose is tied to transportation, including street safety and affordable transit. The official summary available in the source record does not provide a final estimate of how much revenue the tax would raise.
Because the measure remains at the ballot-qualification stage in the available records, the proposal has not been approved by voters and is not in effect. The materials also do not identify an adopted spending plan or confirm final allocations within the proposed transportation program.
Election timing remains conditional
The initiative is aimed at the Nov. 3, 2026 statewide general election if it qualifies under California initiative procedures. That date is the relevant election target, but it is not confirmation that the measure will appear before Sacramento voters.
No vote total, City Council adoption, signature, implementation date or enforcement action is established in the supplied city records. The available information instead documents the filing and the substance of the proposed ordinance.
City budget context
Separately, Sacramento says its proposed fiscal year 2026-27 city budget is approximately $1.7 billion. That figure is part of the city’s annual budget process and does not establish whether the city has sufficient transportation funding or how the proposed tax revenue, if approved, would relate to the budget.
City Council meetings, agendas and public-participation information are posted through the city’s clerk and legislative-information systems. The supplied materials do not show that the council has taken action on this initiative.
For now, the central next step is qualification: only if the proposal completes the applicable initiative process could it proceed toward the November election target. If it does not qualify, the proposed tax would not reach voters through that ballot path.
Sources
- Initiative Measure to Impose a Transactions and Use Tax Within the City of Sacramento, City of Sacramento City Clerk
- Budget FAQs, City of Sacramento
- City Council and City Commission Meetings, City of Sacramento