Fresno County voters will decide this fall whether to approve Measure S, a proposed half-cent sales tax to fund roads, streets and transportation projects for 30 years. A Fresno County Superior Court judge ruled that a state law, AB 1923, is valid and can require the measure to appear on the November ballot.
The initiative, called Better Roads, Safe Streets, would add a 0.5% sales tax and is intended to replace an existing transportation tax set to expire next summer. The dispute began after the Fresno County Board of Supervisors ordered a 30-day financial review of the measure, which supporters saw as an effort to delay the vote until 2028.
After lawmakers passed AB 1923, authored by Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, the bill required Fresno County specifically to place the measure before voters this year. County supervisors argued the state had overstepped its authority, but the court rejected that claim. Board Chair Gary Bredefeld said he would not appeal the ruling.
The decision ends, for now, a high-stakes fight over who controls local ballot measures in California’s fourth-largest county. With the ruling, Measure S is set to go before Fresno County voters in November.
