Throughout 2018 ballot measures and referenda that will raise new revenue for transportation at the local or state level were decided during elections across the country.
As in years past, we kept a close eye on several of the most notable questions decided in 2018. Links to T4America summaries of particular measures on the blog, if available, are in a column in the below table.
Note: We do not track 100 percent of all transit- or transportation-related measures.
Go back to our full hub for state transportation policy & funding resources.
2018 ballot measures for transportation
| Place | State | Official Proposition Title | Outcome and Percent | Description | Raises How Much | Funds What | Link for more information |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide | California | Proposition 6 | FAILED: 45%-55% | Proposition 6 seeks to repeal the increases on the gasoline tax and motor vehicle fees signed into law in 2017 via Senate Bill 1 that are expected to produce $54 billion over the next 10 years specifically for for transportation infrastructure across the state, including public transit projects, road resurfacing, and repairs of bridges and freeways. Read T4America's detailed summary of the 2017 legislation here. The bill took effect November 2017 and imposed a 12-cents-per-gallon tax on gasoline and a 20-cents-per-gallon tax on diesel fuel. It also levied a new license fee on vehicles that can range from $25 to $175. Proposition 6 would undo these tax changes, leaving all gas taxes that existed prior to 2017 intact. It would also make it much harder to create new taxes in the future. | Decreases revenue for transportation by $54 billion over 10 years | Eliminates existing transportation funding. | Read more |
| San Mateo County | California | Measure W | PASSED: 67%-33% | 30 year half-cent sales tax | $2.4 billion over 30 years | The plan would dedicate 50-percent of proceeds toward maintaining and enhancing bus, paratransit, rail and other countywide mobility services; 22.5-percent for countywide highway congestion improvement aiming to improve throughput and travel times; 12.5-percent for local safety, pothole and congestion relief improvements, including efforts to separate the rail corridor from local roads and improve traffic flow in congested areas; 5-percent toward bicycle and pedestrian improvements; and 10-percent toward regional transit connections with neighboring counties. | Read more |
| Statewide | Colorado | Proposition 109 | FAILED: 39%-61% | Proposition 109 is a bond measure that would go to 66 specific highway projects, and prohibit that money for being used for multi-modal improvements. | $3.5 billion through bond measure | Borrowed money under Proposition 109 may only be used for road and bridge expansion, construction, maintenance, and repair on the 66 transportation projects located throughout the state identified in the ballot measure. The bond measure wouldn't be enough to pay for all 66 projects so Colorado DOT would pick how the projects are prioritized. | Read more |
| Statewide | Colorado | Proposition 110 | FAILED: 40%-60% | Proposition 110 would raise the state sales tax by 0.6% for 20 years to go toward transportation infrastructure improvements, including multi-modal projects. | $767 million a year | 45% of the revenue would go to the state highway fund, 15% to the multi-modal transportation options fund, and 40% to local governments. The money for localities can be spent on any transportation priority, including bike lanes, sidewalks, bus lanes etc. | Read more |
| Lakewood | Colorado | TABOR Question | PASSED: 60%-40% | LakewoodÕs measure asks voters if the city can retain and spend $12.5 million in revenues it collected in 2017 that exceed what the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, or TABOR, permits governments in Colorado to keep. The measure also asks if the city can do the same with any excess money it collects through fiscal year 2025. | $12.5 million, with future money raised dependent on excess government revenue in those years | The $12.5 million would be allocated as follows: $8.5 million for open space and parkland purchases, $2 million for police protective gear, and $2 million for infrastructure and transportation improvements. In future years, retained revenues would be assigned evenly among the three categories. | Read more |
| Statewide | Connecticut | Amendment 1 | PASSED: 88%-12% | This amendment would add a transportation "lockbox" to Connecticut's constitution. Like the statutory lockbox, this constitutional change would 1) preserve the stateÕs Special Transportation Fund (STF) as a permanent fund; 2) require that the fund be used exclusively for transportation purposes, which include paying transportation-related debt; and 3) require that any funding sources directed to the STF by law continue to be directed there, as long as the law authorizes the state to collect or receive them | N/A | N/A | Read more |
| Broward County | Florida | Broward County Question: Funding For Countywide Transportation System Improvements Through Levy Of Surtax | PASSED: 60%-40% | The proposal would levy a one percent sales tax for 30 years for county wide transportation improvements | $15.6 billion over 30 years | $9 billion of the raised revenue would be for new light rail lines, while the rest of the revenue would go toward new and enhanced local bus routes, expanded para-transit and community shuttle service, bike lanes, Òsmart signalÓ technology for traffic lights to adapt in real time, and roadway drainage to prevent flooding. | Read more |
| Hillsborough County | Florida | No.2 Referendum | PASSED: 56%-44% | The proposal would levy a one percent sales tax for 30 years for county wide transportation improvements | $8.28 billion over 30 years ($276 million annually) | Most of the money Ñ 54 percent Ñ would be earmarked for roads, sidewalks and trails. About 45 percent would go to bus and transit. Some are highlights of how the tax proceeds would be used are: resurface TampaÕs roads every 25 years instead of every 75 years; build a mass-transit system linking the university area, downtown Tampa and the Westshore-Tampa International Airport area; round out a planned network of 400 miles of bike and pedestrian trails; add 10 new routes, 150 new buses and increase the frequency of at least four bus routes to every 15 minutes; plug roughly 500 miles of sidewalk gaps on roads in unincorporated Hillsborough; and make intersection improvements throughout the county, including the addition of intelligent traffic signals that adjust to real-time traffic flow. | Read more |
| Statewide | Maine | Question 3 | PASSED: 68%-32% | The measure woud pass a bond proposal of $106 million to go to a variety of transportation infrastructure improvements | $106 million | Passage of the transportation bond initiative would result in $80 million in general obligation bonds for construction and maintenance of highways and bridges. The stateÕs ports, harbors, transit and freight rail, and bicycle and pedestrian trails would receive $20 million. Another $5 million would be applied to culvert upgrades. | Read more |
| Statewide | Michigan | Proposal 1 | PASSED: 56%-44% | The proposal would legalize marijuana and place a 10% excise tax that would go to a variety of areas, including infrastructure | $100 million-$200 million per year | 35% of the funds raised would go to the existing state transportation infrastructure improvement fund to fix roads and bridges. | Read more |
| Statewide | Missouri | Proposition D | FAILED-46%-54% | The measure would increase the gas tax by 10 cents per gallon for gasoline, diesel, natural gas, and propane. For gasoline and diesel, the increase would be phased in over four years (2.5 cents per year) | $411 million per year | The proposition would fully fund the Missouri State Patrol to the tune of $288 million a year. Since the Missouri Department of Transportation currently funds the state patrol, that would free up that money to go to road and bridge improvements. The other $123 million would go to local governments for road and bridge improvements. | Read more |
| Austin | Texas | Proposition G | PASSED: 81%-19% | The measure would pass a bond proposal of $160 million to go to a variety of transportation infrastructure improvements | $160 million | The bond measure would go to road, street, sidewalk, intersection and pedestrian safety improvements and urban trails. | Read more |
| Statewide | Utah | Nonbinding Question 1 | FAILED: 34%-66% | Asks voters whether the State legislature should pass a gas tax increase of 10 cents to fund local road construction and maintenance. | $180 million | Local road construction and maintenance. | Read more |
| Arlington County | Virginia | Bond Referendum 1 | PASSED: 81%-17% | Asks voters whether County should pass a bond proposal to fund a variety of transit, road and pedestrian projects across Arlington County | $74.57 million | This proposal will fund a variety of transportation, road, pedestrian enhancement and transit projects across the County. The largest components of this proposal are expected to be $44 million for Arlington CountyÕs share of WMATA / MetroÕs capital improvement program, and $21 million to fund a portion of the costs for paving local streets and roadways. | Read more |
| Statewide | Washington State | Initiative 1631 | FAILED: 44%-56% | Places a fee on carbon emissions of $15 dollars per ton that would increase each year by $2 per ton until the state meets its greenhouse gas reduction goals. | $2.3 billion over five years | 70% of the funds raised would be required to go to clean energy and air projects. In that catagory, projects that reduce transportation emissions are eligibile for funding. | Read more |
