Transportation tax has enough signatures for ballot. Fresno supervisors to vote
After a somewhat turbulent journey, an initiative to replace Fresno County’s decades-old transportation tax officially has enough validated signatures to qualify for the November ballot.
Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus confirmed that on Wednesday, his office verified over 21,900 signatures from Fresno County residents gathered and submitted by the Better Roads, Safe Streets petition.
The plan has one last time-sensitive barrier to clear before organizers can celebrate its place on the November ballot.
On July 14, Kus’s office will present a “Certificate of Sufficiency” for Better Roads, Safe Streets to the County Board of Supervisors. The board’s chairman, Garry Bredefeld, has been the plan’s biggest critic.
The board at next week’s meeting can vote to approve the petition for the November ballot or call for an impact report study. If a majority of supervisors favor the latter, the next meeting to review the findings would be Aug. 11, past the Aug. 7 deadline required for November ballot approval.
Better Roads, Safe Streets aims to use revenue from a general sales tax, a half-cent on every purchase, to fund transportation and infrastructure across the county. It would last 30 years and deliver an estimated $7.4 billion, with 65% of the funds going into local streets and 25% into public transportation.
“This measure is about fixing roads, improving safety, strengthening infrastructure, and making long-term investments that benefit every community in Fresno County,” Clovis Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua said in a statement. “The thousands of residents who signed on to support this effort have earned the right to see Better Roads, Safe Streets placed before voters in November.”
Bredefeld has said that not enough of the funds are dedicated to fixing local roads, and too much is allocated to public transportation. He told The Bee on Thursday he will support the county in “doing its due diligence and analysis.”
He is unsure how other board members will vote, but said some have expressed similar concerns.
“There are many issues and questions regarding how this extremely dishonest and radical tax measure will adversely affect our constituents throughout Fresno County for the next 30 years,” he said. “This proposed tax scam was developed by environmental wackos and is really a public transportation tax disguised as a roads tax.”
Better Roads, Safe Streets did not pass a random sample test by the Fresno County Clerk’s Office in May, which required staff to then individually validate the signatures in time for the last Board of Supervisors meeting scheduled before the Aug. 7 deadline. However, supporters of the plan remained certain they would qualify in time, describing Wednesday’s development as “reflecting the clear desire from voters who want to see this on the ballot,” in a statement.
The city councils of Fresno, Mendota, Parlier and Huron have all voted to formally support Better Roads, Safe Streets.
“Better Roads, Safe Streets provides a practical, locally controlled plan to invest in safer, more reliable roads that residents, businesses, farmers, emergency services, and families depend on every day,” City of Mendota Mayor Victor Martinez said in a statement. “This measure recognizes that Fresno County’s transportation needs are diverse and incorporated and unincorporated communities deserve their fair share of infrastructure investment.”
Fresno County taxpayers have paid billions in dedicated sales taxes — 0.5 cents on every purchase — for the past 40 years through Measure C to pay for county transportation, transit and infrastructure improvements. It was first passed by voters in 1986, renewed in 2006, and expires in 2027.
If the supervisors wait until after Aug. 7 to place the measure on the ballot, it will appear on the next statewide election in March 2028, or on a special election shortly after the November 2026 General Election, Kus said.
How would the Better Roads, Safe Streets funds be used?
- 65% to existing neighborhood roads
- 25% to public transportation
- 5% to regional connectivity
- 4% to access and innovation
- 1% to administration and oversight
This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 2:35 PM.