Judge affirms decision to invalidate proposed Hillsborough transportation tax referendum on ballot

TAMPA, Fla. - A Hillsborough County judge has affirmed her decision to invalidate the proposed transportation tax referendum on November's ballot.

It further throws the county's plans into question as it waits for another court ruling, just weeks from the final vote.

"The stay will be lifted. That means the order I entered a few weeks ago goes back into effect," said Judge Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe.

The proposal to beef sales taxes from 7.5 cents per dollar to 8.5 was made in order to fund 30 years of road fixes, expansions, public transit options, walking paths and bridgework. It's already been through the maze. 

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In 2018, a legal challenge blocked one that was backed by 57% of Hillsborough voters. 

This time, after commissioners sent it to the ballot, and after the ballots were printed, a circuit judge said it was misleading and voided it. 

Thursday, the county argued its appeal before a judge. 

"The language, every one of these uses is in the ordinance," said a lawyer representing Hillsborough County. "I can take you to the particular paragraph."

The county lost after a plaintiff who said the ballot question was misleading won over the judge.

"I'm just very relieved and happy that the voters of Hillsborough County will not be forced to vote on a corrupted ballot," Karen Jaroch, the plaintiff, said. "I'm not happy because in the other sense, we do have transportation issues. The county needs to reprioritize their ballooning budget towards transportation."

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Her lawyer argued the referendum is misleading, because the language could make voters think they have the right to decide on individual spending items, like a bridge in one area or a pothole in another.

"Telling voters that they have the power to decide uses of proceeds misleads and confuses them about where accountability for uses and proceeds actually lies," said a lawyer for the plaintiff, Karen Jaroch.

The county argued to the judge appointed by a Republican governor that it would have been conservative to leave the automatic stay in place. 

The county argued their own right to due process was taken from them.

"The loss here is for those that would like to see transportation invested because this is interrupting that process and will delay it almost three years," Hillsborough County Commissioner Kimberly Overman said after the ruling. "That was not the Board of County Commission's goal. It was to give taxpayers a say on how we generate the revenue to pay for our transportation infrastructure." 

In 2021, a court invalidated the 2018 tax and left the fate of almost $600 million that were already collected in question. 

The transportation tax will remain on the ballot, and the votes will be counted, but results will not be reported unless the judge allows it to go forward.

The second district court of appeals is expected to issue another ruling on the merits of the case, though it is unclear as to when.