The Assembly on Thursday approved SB 762 on an urgency vote, sending the measure immediately to the Senate and advancing a proposal that would let some local governments ask voters to approve sales tax rates above the statutory cap.
According to the Assembly floor summary of the July 2 session, Assemblymember Hart presented the bill on behalf of Senators Arguine and Laird and said it was aimed at local governments facing fiscal pressure. The summary identified Santa Cruz County, Santa Barbara County and several cities, including Carpinteria, Santa Maria, Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Hercules and San Pablo, as among the jurisdictions discussed during the presentation.
The chamber approved the bill 54-13, making SB 762 a live legislative step rather than a proposal on the file. The summary describes it as an urgency measure and says it would give eligible local governments a limited process to seek voter approval for transactions and use tax rates above the statutory cap.
The Senate has not yet acted on the bill, and the floor summary does not indicate whether the upper house will take it up unchanged.
