Arizona Proposition 479: Extending Maricopa County transportation tax to 2045

Arizona Proposition 479 is the extension of the Maricopa County transportation tax, which is the continuation of an existing sales tax in Maricopa County to fund transportation.

This dedicated half-cent sales tax was first established by voters in 1985 with the approval of Proposition 300 and subsequently renewed in 2004 with the voters’ approval of Proposition 400.

Mesa Mayor John Giles joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the half-cent sales tax and broke down how it funds transportation.

“479 continues the half-cent sales tax. It’s not a tax increase. It’s keeping that tax in place that we’ve had for the last 40 years. This is how we pay for transportation in Maricopa County. It pays for the freeway system. It pays for surface streets. It pays for buses. All of that is primarily financed by this regional, county wide half-cent sales tax,” Mayor Giles said.

Mayor Giles explained the money doesn’t evenly split though; it goes between different needs with different amounts.

“About 40% goes to freeways. So that’s the primary transportation mechanism that’s financed, but also it’s transit, that means buses, Dial-a-Ride and that type of thing. There is no money in this for expanding light rail. It’s the transit portion of it is, again, limited to buses, and then the 20% goes to our streets,” Mayor Giles said.

Light rail does still get funding from this, but it is just a small operational cost, Mayor Giles said.

For those who claim the transportation system isn’t used and therefore doesn’t need funding, Mayor Giles disagreed.

“There are tens of thousands of people in Maricopa County that rely on buses and light rail to get to and from work. We’re talking about people who work in kitchens and hospitals and in manufacturing facilities. There are tens of thousands of people every day that utilize this, and they don’t own cars. So this would be a tremendous blow to our economy, particularly the service industry, if we took away that primary source of transportation from our community,” Mayor Giles said.

Mayor Giles responded to critics of the proposition, saying even if you don’t directly use the system, you still benefit from it and it’s economic impact.

Its extension is on the November 5, 2024, Maricopa County ballot. A “yes” vote extends the tax until 2045. A “no” vote will discontinue the tax at the end 2025.