A citizen-led effort to place a half-percent sales tax increase on the November ballot for San Luis Obispo County road improvements has been suspended.
The group, Better Roads for All, had gathered more than 12,000 signatures in under two months at the time of the announcement.
Jorge Aguilar, Better Roads for All Citizens' Committee Chair, said the reason for the suspension is due to a "technical petition error."
"We discovered an error in the petition that we were provided to circulate," Aguilar said.
Although the petition explained the intent and impact of the proposed tax, questions arose over whether the language required for ballot qualification had been included.
Aguilar said the group confirmed the error, meaning the signatures were rendered invalid. The group now needed 12,400 valid signatures before the end of April.
"So given those facts and the amount of time that we had left, we saw no viable path to continue," Aguilar said.
The group is now throwing its support behind a similar effort led by the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG).
SLOCOG has also been working to place a half-percent sales tax increase on the November ballot. The key difference between SLOCOG and Better Roads for All, is how each measure would qualify for the ballot.
SLOCOG Deputy Director James Worthly explained that rather than collecting voter signatures, SLOCOG's measure must receive approval from city councils, the Board of Supervisors, and the SLOCOG board.
"Our measure would have to clear enough approvals by the city council, as well as the Board of Supervisors, and then eight members of the SLOCOG Board to qualify," Worthly said.
Worthly said SLOCOG has already secured enough approvals from the cities and the Board of Supervisors.
"The last step we need to do, is go back to SLOCOG Board on June 3rd to seek their approval with the two-thirds vote," Worthly said.
If approved, the measure would go on the November ballot.
