THE SHORTFALL: The Valley Transportation Authority has a projected shortfall of $3 billion in its 30-year financial plan. The agency would need the equivalent of an additional quarter-cent sales tax – about $80 million annually – to cover it.
THE PROPOSAL: A bill introduced by state Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-San Jose, would allow VTA to place an eighth-cent sales-tax measure before voters.
THE PROBLEM: Voters rejected a half-cent tax increase in summer 2006. And should the new tax pass muster, it’s not clear if it would be enough to help the VTA since it would only generate an additional $40 million a year.