SB 1183 (DeSaulnier) – Support if Amended
As amended on March 24, 2014
SB 1183, by Senator Mark DeSaulnier, would authorize a city,
county, or regional park district to impose, as a special tax, a
point of sale tax on new bicycles, with the rate of the tax to be
determined by the local agency. The bill would exclude from the
tax bicycles with wheels of 20 inches or less in diameter. The
bill would require the State Board of Equalization to collect the
bicycle tax in a manner similar to the collection of local
transactions and use taxes, and to transmit the net revenues from
the tax to the local agency. The bill would require the local
agency to use bicycle tax revenues for improvements to paved and
natural surface trails, including existing and new trails, and
for associated maintenance purposes.
CSAC has indicated its support for this measure, provided that it
is amended to provide additional flexibility in the types of
bikeway construction, improvement and maintenance that the can be
financed with the tax revenue. Specifically, any bikeway included
in an adopted plan which complies with the requirements of the
Bicycle Transportation Act should be eligible for funding. SB
1183 has been set for hearing before the Senate Governance and
Finance Committee on April 24.
