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San Luis Obispo County supervisors withdraw Measure H from November ballot
Summary
In a unanimous Aug. 5 special meeting, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors approved a staff recommendation to remove Measure H from the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot at the request of the SLOCOG board; the move pauses a proposed 0.5¢ sales tax increase aimed at roads and regional matching funds.
At a special meeting on Aug. 5, the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt a staff recommendation to withdraw placement of Measure H from the Nov. 3, 2026 general election ballot at the request of the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG).
Assistant Chief Executive Officer Kate Ballantine told the board that "the SLOCOG board formally approved a resolution making this request at its meeting earlier today," and staff recommended that the county adopt a resolution withdrawing placement of the retail transaction and use tax ordinance from the ballot. The motion to approve the staff recommendation passed in a roll-call vote with all supervisors recorded as voting yes.
In deliberations before the vote, supervisors and commenters acknowledged the county's road needs but differed on timing and approach. Supervisor Perchon said he had not supported the measure in past elections and noted that sales taxes tend to "disproportionately hurt people in the lower income brackets." Supervisor Ortiz Lake said pulling the measure will mean the county continues to miss matching funds available to neighboring jurisdictions with a 0.5¢ local sales tax but agreed the timing was not right now.
The Chair provided fiscal context, saying the county continued to prioritize infrastructure and storm recovery and noted roughly "$70,000,000 worth of damage to our roads and infrastructure" from the 2023 storms; the Chair also said the county had previously reduced staffing by 155 full‑time equivalents and cut $35,000,000 from the budget. The motion recorded five yes votes and the resolution to withdraw Measure H was adopted. The special meeting was adjourned to the next regularly scheduled Board meeting on Aug. 18, 2026 at 9 a.m.
