Fresno County’s Transportation Tax Will Be on Your November Ballot After Judge Rules Against Supervisors

A Fresno County judge ruled Monday that Measure S — the half-cent transportation tax meant to replace the expiring Measure C — will appear on the November ballot, ending a legal fight the county’s Board of Supervisors brought against the state.

Superior Court Judge Jonathan Skiles, appointed by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, found that Assembly Bill 1923 is “valid and enforceable.” That’s the state law, authored by Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria and co-authored by State Sen. Anna Caballero, that put Measure S on this year’s ballot over the supervisors’ objections.

Board Chair Garry Bredefeld said the county won’t appeal. “I respect Judge Skiles, believe he gave all sides a fair opportunity to present their arguments, and accept his decision,” Bredefeld said in a statement.

Advertisement

But Bredefeld also called Measure S a “scam” and criticized what he called “the radicals promoting” it for signature-collection issues that required hand-counting.

The lawsuit cost Fresno County an estimated $55,000, according to county spokesperson Sonja Dosti, with a final tally expected in a couple of weeks.

Measure S is known as the “Better Roads, Safe Streets” initiative. It would fund road, infrastructure, and transportation projects across Fresno County. Because it’s a citizen-led initiative, it needs only a simple majority — 50% plus one vote — to pass, not the two-thirds majority Measure C’s 2022 renewal required.

Measure C, a 40-year-old transportation tax, expires next summer. Without a replacement, local governments and transportation agencies have warned of layoffs and service cuts.

The City of Fresno already approved its own citywide general tax to protect against a projected shortfall and avoid laying off more than 200 workers. That measure has language that voids it if a countywide tax passes. Mayor Jerry Dyer, a Measure S supporter, said last month he’d encourage voters to approve both.

The “Yes on Measure S” campaign celebrated Monday’s ruling. “The court saw what was plain all along: Measure S qualified fair and square,” the campaign said, “and it should be voters — not politicians — who have the final say on how their tax dollars are spent.”

Soria’s office issued a statement saying the ruling “reinforces what we already knew, that AB 1923 is law, and that voters in Fresno County will NOT be denied their constitutional right to decide on this transportation measure.”

The Breakdown

• Measure S is a half-cent sales tax for transportation and road projects, meant to replace Measure C when it expires in 2027.
• The Fresno County Board of Supervisors sued the state, arguing AB 1923 — the law that placed Measure S on the November ballot — was unconstitutional and the measure should appear in March 2028 instead.
• Judge Skiles ruled AB 1923 is valid, meaning Measure S appears on the November 3 ballot.
• Board Chair Bredefeld announced the county won’t appeal, ending legal challenges to the measure’s placement.
• The measure needs only a simple majority (50% + 1) to pass.

What This Means for You

You’ll vote on whether to continue funding Fresno County’s roads and transit through a half-cent sales tax this November. Your vote decides whether the county has a dedicated transportation funding source after Measure C expires next year — or whether local governments face the service cuts and layoffs they’ve warned about. The state legislature put this on your ballot over the objections of your county supervisors, who sued to delay it. Your decision in November settles whether those supervisors’ opposition or the bipartisan coalition of mayors backing the measure carries the day.

What You Can Do

Measure S will appear on the November 3 ballot. You can learn more about the measure and the campaign supporting it through the “Yes on Measure S” coalition. Chair Garry Bredefeld has called the measure a “scam” — watch for arguments from supervisors in the weeks ahead.

What to Watch

The supervisors spent an estimated $55,000 in public money to fight this measure’s placement on the ballot — and lost. Now Bredefeld has promised a “ballot box” fight instead.

And here’s the tension the official statements don’t address: Measure C has funded county transportation for 40 years. If it expires without a replacement, the layoffs and service cuts local officials have warned about become real. But a simple-majority threshold means this tax can pass with far less consensus than Measure C’s renewal required. Is a bare majority enough support for a long-term tax commitment — or does lowering the bar risk passing something that doesn’t truly have the county’s backing? Your vote this November answers that.