Cal. Public Utilities Code § 131001

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) That, in the nine-county San Francisco Bay area, traffic and transportation improvements are an immediate high priority needed to resolve the bay area’s serious traffic congestion and transit mobility problems that threaten the economic viability of the area and adversely impact the quality of life therein. (b) That, in the nine-county San Francisco Bay area, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission is responsible for regional transportation planning and programming. (c) That the commission and the counties and cities within the nine-county San Francisco Bay area wish to collectively develop and implement, on a county-by-county basis, near-term local traffic and transportation projects that responsibly and adequately deal with current and anticipated traffic congestion and transit mobility problems. (d) That, in order to proceed in a expeditious manner with the development and implementation of those projects, each of the nine counties in the San Francisco Bay area should be provided the opportunity to review and determine whether there is a need for the development and implementation of a county transportation expenditure plan that goes significantly beyond current federal, state, and local funding. (e) Therefore, it is in the public interest to allow the voters in any county in the nine-county San Francisco Bay area to either create a county transportation authority or to authorize the commission to implement a retail transactions and use tax for the purpose of funding a local transportation expenditure plan showing a need for the proceeds from that tax.