Measure C, 1986 to 2027
Fresno County voters approved Measure C, a half-cent sales tax for transportation, in 1986, and approved a twenty-year extension in November 2006. That extension expires on June 30, 2027. The Fresno County Transportation Authority administers the program, and Measure C has its own citizen oversight committee.
In November 2022 a thirty-year renewal went to voters as a county measure. It received 58.2% yes and failed because it needed two-thirds. Under the current Measure C, 34.6% of revenue goes to local roads and 30.4% to regional projects.
Side by side
- Rate: Measure C 0.5%. Measure S 0.5%. The rate is the one thing that does not change.
- Term: Measure C ends June 30, 2027. Measure S runs July 1, 2027 to 2057, thirty years.
- Total: Measure S is projected at about $7.4 billion, roughly $120 million in the first year.
- Local roads: Measure C 34.6%. Measure S 65%, with $400,000 a year to each city and the county first, then 80% by population and 20% by road miles.
- Regional projects: Measure C 30.4%. Measure S 4%.
- Transit: Measure S 25%, about $1.85 billion, plus 4% for access and innovation including free fares.
- Agency: Measure C is run by the Fresno County Transportation Authority. Measure S eliminates it and moves the money to Fresno COG.
- Oversight: Measure S creates an eleven-member committee appointed entirely by Fresno COG that reviews audits and recommends.
- Path to the ballot: Measure C renewals were county measures needing two-thirds. Measure S is a citizen initiative needing a simple majority, placed on the 2026 ballot by state law AB 1923 after supervisors voted for 2028.
What Measure C delivered in Fresno
The best predictor of the next thirty years is the last forty. The City of Fresno's own reports show the street repair backlog rising from $505 million in January 2023 to about $1.2 billion by June 2025, with another roughly $300 million in sidewalk needs, and a projection of about $2.5 billion by 2035 at current funding.
The city's average Pavement Condition Index slipped from 72 in 2008 (good) to 64 in 2025 (fair). Fresno Area Express carried 11.24 million rides in 2005 and 9.61 million in 2024, while Caltrans estimates countywide daily vehicle miles kept rising, from 21.95 million in 2021 to 23.24 million in 2023.
- $505M → $1.2B
- Fresno street backlog, 2023 → 2025
- 72 → 64
- average pavement score, 2008 → 2025
- −14.5%
- FAX rides, 2005 → 2024
- +5.9%
- county daily vehicle miles, 2021 → 2023
The question for November 3
Measure S moves more money to local roads than Measure C did, and that is a fair point in its favor. But it does so inside a thirty-year lock with a committee that can only advise, a quarter of the money set aside for a mode fewer than 1 in 100 county commuters use, and a record under the current tax that got worse, not better. The rate is the same. The question is whether the structure earned another thirty years. We think the answer is No.