Fresno County advocacy groups unveiled on Wednesday a replacement for the transportation tax that failed to gain the necessary support of local government.

The proposal attempts to balance road improvement needs and alternative transportation funding, letting voters have a say on the Measure C renewal plan that likely would not get the support of Fresno County supervisors.

This renewal, however, will have the much easier task of only needing the approval of 50% and one voter, as opposed to the two-thirds advocates would have needed to get Measure C approved.

To qualify for the ballot, petitioners will have to collect 22,000 signatures, said Fresno County Registrar of Voters James Kus in a previous interview. Given the rushed timeline, however, a more realistic figure is 34,000 signatures so that officials don’t need to verify every one, just a random sampling.

Several mayors and elected officials from Fresno and Clovis attended a Wednesday news conference supporting the measure from many of the groups who advocated for more transit options during the contentious Measure C fight.

GV Wire did not receive notice about the news conference. Transportation 4 all representatives were not available to comment.

The sponsoring group — called Moving Fresno Forward — proposed spending proportions from the plan that failed at the Fresno Council of Governments, with 65% going to road repair, 25% to public transit projects, 4% to access and innovation, 5% to regional connectivity, and 1% to administration and oversight.

The access and innovation funding is limited to alternative transit uses, said a Fresno County public works expert.

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer told GV Wire in a statement that the region needs a transportation tax to repair roads.

“Without a transportation measure, the city of Fresno and other communities in Fresno County will continue falling further behind,” Dyer said. “That’s why local street maintenance must be central to any plan going forward. And that is exactly what this plan does, committing 65% of the funds to local roads, while ensuring public transportation needs are also being met.”

Related Story: Measure C Steering Committee Finishes Delayed Plan as County Officials Push

Transportation Tax the Same as Measure C Renewal Proposal

Moving Fresno Forward’s plan keeps the same guidelines as the COG plan, said Parlier Mayor Alma Beltran.

That means a half-cent tax over 30 years, bringing in about $7 billion. The 30 years is a increase from the 20-year terms of the previous versions.

Beltran said the new measure will prioritize roads, transit, and safe routes to schools, not only in Fresno but throughout the county. The steering committee, which had outsized influence from Transportation 4 All, mandated that

She said previous versions of Measure C focused too much on regional projects, leaving city street conditions behind.

“There are other regional funding sources available for regional priorities; however, there are no dedicated funding sources for local roads other than this measure,” Beltran told GV Wire in an email. “That is why it is critical to focus on our rural and urban cities to secure the funding needed to restore local streets and bring them to a condition where commuter can travel safely.”

Required metrics include bringing the average conditions of the roads for each jurisdiction up to a level 70, including major streets and neighborhood streets, according to the 36-page plan draft. Any expressways, super-arterials, arterials, and collectors built or repaved will have to add dedicated bike lanes.

One hundred and twenty miles of new bike lanes and trails would have to be finished by 2057.

A minimum of five “safe routes to schools” improving walkability, safety, and connectivity must be completed. Fresno County will have to reduce greenhouse gas emissions according to goals laid out by the California Air Resources Board.

The measure will also be required to increase access to schools, jobs, housing, and other destinations by means other than driving. Fresno Area Express gets 70% of transit agency funds, Clovis Transit gets 10%, and Fresno County Rural Transit Authority gets 20%.

Cities that don’t meet these requirements may have future funds withheld, the draft plan stated.

Public Works Experts Said Many Parts of Plan ‘Unrealistic’

Planning experts said during steering committee meetings that many of the restrictions make the plan “unrealistic.” Fresno County Public Works Design Division Manager Mohammad Alimi said a required 7% of funds going to disadvantaged communities don’t meet the additional requirements for complete streets — which require sidewalks and storm drains.

Alimi also said during the Dec. 9, 2025 Fresno County Board of Supervisors meeting that adding a bike lane to all major county roads “is not a reasonable request.”

Former Fresno County Supervisor and city councilmember Henry R. Perea said cities should have more flexibility in deciding how road money be spent.

“When you get that kind of money but you don’t have the flexibility as a mayor and a council in your city to spend it based on what you believe are the needs, then they put conditions that you can’t meet, well then, what do you have?” Perea said.

He said a good plan would give cities more flexibility in spending on roads and transit as they see fit.

At the December board meeting, an alternative proposal closer to the failed 2022 Measure C renewal was unveiled by “transportation experts” Tony Boren, Mike Leonardo, Diana Gomez, and others.

Boren is the former COG director, Leonardo is the former Fresno County Transportation Authority director, and Gomez is the former Caltrans District 6 director.

Boren told GV Wire the group will have their proposal filed in the next couple days. He said the group wanted to see what plan would be put forward by Transportation 4 All.

Even if both transportation taxes receive more than 50% approval, they both cannot be approved during the same election, Kus told GV Wire. The winner would be the one with the highest acceptance rate.

A 30-Year Transportation Tax Needs Greater Flexibility: Perea

Kus told GV Wire he has not yet received any paperwork on the voter initiative, meaning it will be several weeks before any petitioners can gather signatures.

When Fresno COG first reached an agreement with Transportation 4 All, it did as nonprofit fundraising group Central Valley Community Foundation threatened to spend $400,000 on  a competing ballot initiative.

Board members of CVCF at the time said they would not pursue a ballot initiative if there was a unified effort to a new Measure C renewal that included greater community input.

Calls and emails to CVCF and board members were not immediately returned.

Perea, however, said having non-elected people putting restrictions on transportation money can hamstring the desires of a community, especially that far into the future. He said cities should be able to decide how much to dedicate to transit and how much to dedicate to road repairs.

“You’re talking about $7 billion over 30 years. I mean, that’s a long time, and that’s a lot of money for people’s hand to be tied in 2026,” Perea said. “And then in 10 or 15 years from now that conditions have changed to have no flexibility to spend your money, that makes no sense at all.”