Registrar-certified ballot measure to raise a half‑cent sales tax placed on November ballot

Staff told the board the Registrar of Voters certified a citizens’ initiative titled the Measure to Fund San Diego County Health and Safety Services. The measure would impose a 0.5% sales tax, with the proposed allocation spelled out in the petition: 22.5% to Tijuana River mitigation and cleanup, 17.5% to public safety and wildfire prevention, and 60% to health care, child care and nutrition. The petition also establishes an independent 12‑member oversight committee and independent audits, and blocks use of funds for elected officials’ salaries or lobbyists.

Supporters — including labor unions, public‑health groups and residents in the impacted South Bay — urged the board to put the measure on the ballot, framing it as an urgent local response to the Tijuana River crisis and federal cuts to health and food assistance. SEIU Local 221’s Crystal Irving said voters signed to address sewage, healthcare, child care and wildfire response at scale.

Opponents warned of a permanent sales tax and questioned how projects and splits would be administered; some asked for an impact report. Chair Lawson Reamer proposed clarifying edits to the ballot question — replacing jargon ("mitigate") with clearer language ("cleanup"), adding “sales tax” instead of technical terms and inserting an estimated annual revenue figure — and the board approved placing the certified initiative on the November 3 ballot after including clarifying language. The official action was procedural: certification and placement on the ballot with recommended clarifications; the substance will be decided by voters.