On November 4, 2025, Santa Clara County voters will weigh in on a proposed measure to temporarily raise the county sales tax from 9.125% to 9.75%, estimated to generate $330 million per year until it expires in 2031. While sales taxes are regressive in nature, Measure A would directly benefit low-income and vulnerable communities by backfilling some of the deep federal funding cuts to social safety net services such as Medicaid.
SPUR recommends a YES vote on Measure A.
What the Measure Would Do
Measure A would impose a temporary increase of 0.625% to the county sales tax, to take effect April 1, 2026. It is estimated to generate an additional $330 million per year in revenue to the county’s general fund for five years, until it expires in 2031.
The Backstory
Federal bill H.R. 1, known as the “Big Beautiful Bill,” was enacted in July 2025 and will make heavy cuts to critical social safety net programs across the country, including Medicaid. Santa Clara County has estimated $1.4 billion in lost revenue by FY2029 if no action is taken. The cuts from H.R. 1 represent the most severe funding loss the county has faced since Proposition 13 passed more than 40 years ago.
Roughly 30% of Santa Clara County’s revenues come directly or indirectly from the federal government, representing $3.7 billion of the county’s total budget in FY 2024–25. Close to $2.3 billion of those federal dollars come from the federal Medicaid program and go directly to healthcare services, representing the largest single source of federal funding to Santa Clara County. While the county’s hospital and health clinics will be hit hardest, other critical county services such as food assistance and SNAP, behavioral health care, homelessness services, and public safety, will also see cuts due to the loss of federal funding and significantly constrained resources…